Moon Sword
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: History isn't always as it's written. Serenity didn't exactly love Endymion, but she was willing to put up with him to keep her mother happy. Even if it meant not following her own heart. The attack was a blessing in disguise, because it gives her another chance to be with the man she actually loved. Now if only she could find a way to make the Senshi less embarrassing to watch...
1. Chapter 1

It was the nightmare again. The ball and the prince and the sudden attack. Seeing her beloved fall, as well as her protector, then taking the sword and killing herself in despair.

She was the Princess, and instead of escaping to possibly live another day, to lead her people after such a horrifying attack, she had killed herself.

Mashiro Emiya had always felt the princess in the dream was an idiot. Instead of surviving or trying to escape, she committed suicide with the sword that her protector had been using to try and save her.

And being only fifteen at the time was no excuse. Mashiro was seventeen, and she would rather go down fighting than to kill herself just because the ones she trusted to have her back were killed, even if one was her soon-to-be-lover.

Mashiro made her way down from the second floor of her shed, where she practiced magecraft. She was already starting breakfast when Sakura appeared and began to help. Which meant Taiga would be in shortly to mooch off her.

Once breakfast was over, Mashiro couldn't help but think that there was something of a void in her life.

When she was seven, she was caught up in the Fuyuki fire that claimed the lives of hundreds of people and ended up with some pretty serious amnesia. Kiritsugu had adopted her soon after she was released, and when told of his once-dream, Mashiro had sworn then and there to see that one day she would create a world where you didn't have to kill the few in order to protect the many. A world of actual peace, instead of the often broken truces that countries made.

When she was fifteen, Mashiro felt as though something big should have happened. For the entire year she kept her eyes out for something to occur that would change her life. When she turned sixteen, she gave it up as a bad job and simply ignored the feeling. Even if it never did fully go away.

However one thing did happen that year that changed her daily routine.

That was the year she found Sakura, and practically took her in as family.

Sakura Matou was the younger sister of a known creep named Shinji. Shinji once made the mistake of trying to hit on Mashiro, up to the point she started using him as target practice after one lewd remark too many. To the girls, Mashiro was their champion, because Taiga gave her permission to use Shinji as practice so long as he wasn't seriously maimed enough to require hospitalization.

As such, while Sakura continued to be a member of the Archery club along with Mashiro, who was now captain, Shinji no longer came around for fear Mashiro would use her bow on him, even if she was using blunted arrows.

Mashiro never missed. Ever. And more often than not she liked to aim...below the belt...when Shinji was around.

As such, when she practically adopted the younger Matou as her sister, the rest of the club adopted her as well.

At this point Mashiro was just glad Sakura was at least able to hold her own when it came to feeding the black hole named Fujimura Taiga.

Once at the school, the girl paused and sniffed the air. Her father once called her part bloodhound because she could sniff out prana, though she preferred not to. Not after the time Kiritsugu pranked her with a particularly foul piece of magecraft that had her nose reeling. It had taken _weeks_ for the smell to leave her poor nose, and ever since she made sure to avoid using her Magus sense if possible.

Kiritsugu took the month of spiked food rather well, considering she had been tempted to dust his undergarments with cayenne pepper for a week.

However there was something around the school that reeked of blood and something best not mentioned. Whatever it was made her skin crawl worse than the time Shinji tried to grope her ass last year.

"Emiya-san, could you spare a moment?" asked Issei, blushing.

He always did that when talking to Mashiro, and some people had a running joke about how oblivious she was to the large amount of people in her fan club, both male and female. She had a bigger following than the second most popular girl in school, Tohsaka Rin.

Emiya Mashiro was very pretty, humble, intelligent and extremely approachable and would not hesitate to help a younger student if asked. However she was sometimes a bit of a ditz (giving some of the more snide girls to make dumb blond jokes behind her back), and appeared to be completely oblivious to the fact she had half the school in love with her.

Tohsaka Rin was pretty enough, was Mashiro's rival in the grade rankings, and was somewhat approachable. However there was always this sense of separation between her and the rest of the students, and the rather odd fact that she barely had a clue about how to use something as common as a cell phone. She was extremely prideful and disliked Mashiro on principle.

In short, she was Mashiro's rival for the most popular girl in school, despite the fact Mashiro did nothing to earn it.

Mashiro followed Issei into the student council rooms, where she saw an older heater.

"It broke down again?"

Issei nodded.

"I'll see what I can do," said Mashiro with a smile. Issei's blush got worse. "You should really see the school nurse about these sudden fevers of yours, Issei-kun."

Issei left, shaking his head at how oblivious Mashiro was as she took out her tools.

The blond girl snickered. Contrary to popular belief she wasn't _entirely_ oblivious to the boys (and girls) crushes on the only sapphire-blue eyed blond as they believed. It was just she hadn't yet found anyone worth her time.

She wanted someone with a bit more mettle in them. Besides, Taiga would never let her hear the end of it if she did finally find someone worth dating.

Being given the Talk from the woman had been mortifying enough for both of them.

The girl used a little Structural Analysis to find out the problem, and quickly set about fixing it. Good thing she came to school early.

Mashiro didn't mind doing minor repair work, because it saved on the household expenses, but she preferred her other hobbies to repairing random things.

Like video games, for instance. She was absolutely addicted to that odd _Sailor V_ game that came out three years ago, and when she connected her console to the internet she had the second highest score in Japan, beaten only by one Ami Mizuno.

There was also her rather large manga and anime collection, her music collection (most of it from a violinist by the name of Michiru), and of course the scant few magecraft books Kiritsugu had left her inside the shed.

Then of course there was the one thing Mashiro couldn't wait to try out, at least once her license cleared.

A brand new Kawasaki motorcycle which Taiga's grandfather gave her for her sixteenth birthday after she expressed an interest. It was probably a side effect of having to repair his motorcycle and that of his 'associates' more often than she could count. She was cheaper than any repair shops and she never asked why there were bullet holes in the metal.

Hence why he was more than happy to get her one of her own once she expressed an interest in _riding_ one rather than repairing it. And she had undergone several lessons to that effect from a few enthusiastic members of the Fujimura clan.

Mashiro was extremely popular with teens and adults alike. She just had that sort of aura about her.

As Mashiro made her way home, she noticed a subtle feeling in the air, almost like it was charged. The last time she felt like this...was right before the fire started that claimed her memories.

She was a bit quicker to head home, once she realized that.

In taking a different route, she completely missed the almost white-haired girl with red eyes in foreign clothing that was out looking for her.

Once she was home, the feeling in the air grew worse. It was almost cloying. And if that weren't bad enough, the feeling that had started when she was fifteen had almost doubled.

Even while cleaning up, she couldn't shake it. So she decided to head to her workshop to try and do something more productive than homework.

So it was only natural that with how distracted she was that she didn't notice the giant glowing circle in the back of the shed until it was almost too late.

She took one look at the ritual circle and ran out the shed.

All of a sudden there was a pain on her right hand as blood began to pool freely. Hissing slightly at the pain, she watched with fascination and some horror as the blood began to form an odd tattoo on her hand.

It was a crescent moon with a pair of wings on each side, with the moon looking like some form of twisted smile. In the center of the moon was a large eight pointed star that extended from one end of the moon to the other.

The glow was reaching it's peak, and Mashiro had a feeling this had something to do with the 'war' her father spoke of shortly before he died. The Holy Grail War.

The feeling reached it's peak and there was a flare of power inside the shed, almost destroying the windows. Seeing the smoke, Mashiro cautiously entered the shed...to find a man with hair as gold as her own wearing golden armor and oozing arrogance.

"I have answered your summons, peasant. So be grateful that I, Archer, will be your Servant."

Okay, there was only one "Servant" that Kiritsugu spoke of, however briefly, that had golden armor, blond hair and the arrogance of a god.

"Are you King Gilgamesh of Uruk?" she asked cautiously.

Archer's eyes narrowed.

"Well at least my Master isn't completely useless. Do you have a name?"

"Emiya Mashiro," she said immediately. She could handle dealing with Gilgamesh for a while. Everyone in close proximity to her eventually feel prey to what Kiritsugu once called "the most absurdly high charisma ranking" he had ever encountered in a living human.

Case in point, the massive fan club which included well over half the students in her school, aside from the freshman who only just started.

Gilgamesh eyed his new Master with a patient gaze. Whoever this Mashiro girl was, she had a charisma about her that rivaled his own.

At least he wasn't stuck in that basement with only the Priest, or force feed wine. Though he did wonder how such a slip of a girl was able to power him...or have four command seals if he was reading her right.

Masters were only supposed to have THREE when they were granted the power to summon a Servant.

As Mashiro made dinner, trying to figure out how to explain GILGAMESH being here, she almost forgot about one important fact.

Sakura generally crashed at her house, and she was about due for an overnight visit.

True to form, Sakura showed up an hour before Taiga would come over to mooch dinner. She took one look at Gilgamesh, then without a word held up her own right hand revealing a similar set of runes on the back.

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed, clearly debating on whether to kill her now or watch her struggle later.

So imagine the shock of both Sakura and the Golden King when Mashiro firmly hit Gilgamesh on the head with her ladle.

"None of that. She's our ally, and I'm not going to explain to Taiga why there's a cooling corpse in my dining room, or where the blood stain came from."

"...Did you just hit me with a cooking utensil?" he said incredulously.

Mashiro's eyes turned into a fiery blaze of blue.

"No one, not even the King of Heroes himself, is allowed to fight this close to my kitchen. I'll fight Herakles myself with only this ladle if it means no one touches my kitchen," said Mashiro flatly.

"If it makes you feel any better, Mashiro is a very good cook," offered Sakura, once she got over the strong desire to laugh at the gobsmacked look on Gilgamesh's face at being hit by his own master with a ladle. She had the feeling he wouldn't like it. At all.

Though if the almost battle near the kitchen was bad, it was nothing compared to what happened when Mashiro tried to go to sleep. Alone. In her own bed.

"I am not sharing a bed with an unmarried man I barely know."

"You do realize that as my current Master I must protect you from all threats. It's easier to kill you than it will be me," he said smugly.

"I am a young maiden of marriageable age. You are a king from a time when harems were considered publicly acceptable. Are you seeing my problem?" she said, raising a single sculpted blond eyebrow.

Every once in a while, Taiga would take Mashiro and Sakura for a girl's night out.

Manicure, pedicure, haircut, the whole works. And when they were done they'd go clothes shopping with a set budget.

Needless to say it was the time Sakura enjoyed the most.

Gilgamesh didn't see her point.

So she phrased it another way.

"I have half the school in love with me, yet I've never had a single boyfriend. No one has yet to meet my high standards, and until then I will not allow a _man_ to sleep in the same room as me without someone to chaperone. However...there is a room right next door and easily breached if you're that adamant about it."

Opening the door that lead to the next room, which was originally intended for storage, Gilgamesh snorted.

"Acceptable."

Mashiro intrigued him. First by summoning him without a catalyst and drawing his previous self straight from the Church, then by establishing her dominance as the one in charge of the house with that surprise attack which he hadn't felt or seen coming.

Considering he was a hero far beyond that of mortal men, and 2/3rd god to boot, that was pretty damn impressive. But if asked by someone he actually respected, he had a very different answer.

There was something about this girl that seemed familiar. As in when 'he was still alive' familiar. Her face kept bugging him and that wasn't bringing into account the energy he felt coming off her, untrained.

He was interested to see how far this Mashiro Emiya would go.

Sakura decided to make her own summoning circle, with Mashiro watching to see how it SHOULD have been done and not the bizarre impromptu one she had used. To be fair, she hadn't planned on summoning a Servant this soon anyway.

However it was the Servant Sakura summoned that brought an entire slew of new issues.

Specifically the fact that this Servant had prior experience with Gilgamesh and disliked him immensely.

Saber looked very much like she wanted to strangle Gilgamesh where he stood.

"So how are you going to explain Saber to your grandfather?"

"I'm not. I'm going to destroy the mansion and him with it," said Sakura darkly.

"...Do you mind if I watch? And what about Shinji?"

"If he lives, then he lives. If he gets killed, then it's not my problem. Coincidentally..."

"Yes, you can crash at my house. You're practically my sister anyway~!" chirped Mashiro.

Mashiro had been wanting to do this since the first time Sakura broke down and told her _exactly_ what when on in that house. Shinji's existence in her eyes dropped to terrifying levels.

And Zouken? He should have died a long time ago.

In Mashiro's hands was a bow and on her back were her special arrows.

For some odd reason, whenever she carved runes into her arrows, they always turned into holy weapons. And Kiritsugu simply couldn't figure out why.

Her Element was Holy, and her Origin was Life, but that shouldn't automatically turn any weapon she modified into a holy-element!

"Remember, you and Saber take out the mansion and I'll deal with any of the worms that come out," said Mashiro.

"And if you see Shinji..."

"Aim low," grinned Mashiro viciously.

Sakura and Saber walked into the wards of the mansion, while Mashiro waited outside. A few worms tried to slither out, but one hit from Mashiro's arrows and they burned up as if on fire.


	2. Chapter 2

According to the official report, the house blew up because of faulty wiring and a bad heating system. There wasn't much left of the mansion, and nothing left of Sakura's "Grandfather" after Mashiro shot him with enough holy arrows.

Sakura jokingly called her Artemis, after the Greek moon goddess of the hunt they way she rained death from above with the Golden King by her side.

Hearing that nickname, Mashiro promptly asked if that made Gilgamesh Apollo the sun god. Considering his armor, it wouldn't be that big a stretch to mistake him for the Greek god.

Gilgamesh was slightly insulted, at least until Mashiro's impish side kicked in.

"This is perfect. We can use mistaken identity against people!" said Mashiro.

Seeing the confusion on the other's faces, she explained.

"Look, people will automatically assume I'm an Archer Servant the way I use my bow. Add a bit of Ancient Greek clothing and some play acting, and people will assume I'm the Greek maiden goddess Artemis. And with his looks they'll assume he's Apollo, unless told otherwise! And since from what I've heard about Gilgamesh, he can take any position save Assassin or Berserker!"

"Devious," said Sakura, looking at Mashiro with admiration. It was a brilliant strategy.

"Underhanded," said Saber, scowling.

"Hilarious," said Gilgamesh, settling the debate. Sure it was insulting to be mistaken for a Greek god, but at least it was a deity and not some pathetic hero who couldn't hope to match his legend. Besides the sheer confusion of them trying to find a weakness against him would be amusing to watch.

However, the thought of a moon goddess did bring something else to mind. The fact Mashiro seemed familiar to him from when he was still living.

At least he would have time to try and figure out why he felt he knew her from before while she was at school. Mashiro had a set of Black Keys, presents from Kiritsugu shortly before his death.

From what she remembered, he had stolen them from a previous master in the last war when the man wasn't looking.

Naturally that made Gilgamesh amused, because the ONLY Master who would have had Black Keys _and_ fought Kiritsugu long enough for him to have taken them was Kotomine.

The idea of Emiya's adopted daughter using Kotomine's stolen weapons almost put him into a fit of evil laughter. Mostly because he could easily see the look on the priest's face when he found out who had them.

* * *

School officially sucked. Mashiro spent most of her day thinking up costume designs to fool enemy Masters, because she had firmly declared Sakura was her ally, whether Saber liked it or not.

Eventually she found one she liked, which meant she could focus on hair styles.

She went on autopilot the entire day, at least until Archery club. There she had to take things remotely seriously or people would get hurt.

It was on the way home that Mashiro's CUTE! Radar went into full gear.

Sakura had gone on ahead to buy groceries for their minor party, while Mashiro had to wait until practice was over.

A little girl with pale hair and red eyes was waiting at the end of the road.

"You better summon your Servant soon, Onee-chan," she giggled.

Mashiro had a feeling this might be Illyasviel, her adopted older sister. She fit the description Kiritsugu had given to her. However, her inner Troll was cackling as she had a fit of inspiration on how to mess with the girl.

She couldn't resist. The troll had been in full gear all day thanks to her idea of messing with the other Masters by posing as the Greek moon goddess.

"Ghost!" she yelled loudly, pointing at the little girl.

The girl's reaction was priceless. She puffed up her face in annoyance and even stomped her feet on the concrete as she declared loudly "I am not a ghost!"

It was too cute for words, the expression on her face. Mashiro couldn't help it, she broke out laughing, and the girl realized she'd been had. She pouted.

"You're mean, Onee-san."

"Don't you mean imouto? You're Illyasviel, my adopted older sister right?"

Illya stared at her.

"...You know?"

"Otou-san told me he had to leave his biological daughter in a drafty castle because the homunculi wouldn't let him anywhere near his child on the head of the clan's orders. He said there was a high chance that the man would send her here to act as master to finish what her father refused to."

"You're lying! You have to be!" shouted Illya. She bolted past Mashiro, and it looked like she was trying not to cry. She was clearly in denial.

Mashiro didn't try to follow her. She knew when it was better to let things calm down.

* * *

 _It was beautiful on Earth. Even if she wasn't too enthusiastic about where they were going._

 _They came upon a golden palace, and were promptly lead up the stairs to where the King sat._

 _She hid behind her mother, though she did peak around her to see what the infamous King of Heroes looked like._

 _He was cute. He had short blond hair almost like spun gold, eyes like flame and an assurance that HE was the ruler here. He had an aura about him that just drew people to him._

" _(Inaudible) ...This is King Gilgamesh."_

Mashiro couldn't hear the name of the girl. She felt it was important, but couldn't understand why.

" _So you're the next Goddess of the Moon Kingdom."_

 _Gilgamesh walked up to her and held out his hand. He looked about thirteen and the girl was about ten at the time._

 _The goddess of the Moon would only ascend to full immortal after giving birth to a child, preferably a daughter. Queen Serenity had ascended little over a decade ago, which meant her child would be the next Goddess of the Moon Kingdom._

 _However from what Gilgamesh saw of the child, she would need quite a bit of time to mature before she was ready to ascend._

Mashiro sat up with a confused expression on her face. What was that all about?

Moon Goddess? Ascension?

She saw the time and decided she might as well prepare for breakfast. She wasn't getting any sleep after _that._

She found Gilgamesh watching the sun rise with a sense of boredom.

"Don't you normally sleep in?" he asked.

"Not with the weird dream I had. It was almost as bad as the nightmare of the ball and the sudden attack," said Mashiro, yawning.

"Nightmare?"

Mashiro had explained it before to Sakura, but she was equally baffled since neither of them had seen the inside of a ball room as extravagant as the one Mashiro described, and the girl who died was clearly in her teens.

"I'm dancing at this ball with a boy, about eighteen or nineteen. I can clearly hear the music and smell the perfume, and everyone is excited and happy. Suddenly the music stops and the screaming starts. Monsters come pouring in from one of the open doors, and people start dying. I'm rushed away by the boy I was dancing with and a long blond hair girl about my age in a weird sailor fuku that's orange carrying a crystal sword. The monsters catch up to us and kill the boy and my protector, and in despair I take the sword and..." Mashiro shuddered. Gilgamesh could fill in the rest.

"I don't think it's a nightmare," he said.

"It's not? But it feels so real!"

"What about the dream this morning?"

"I was being taken to a golden palace where you were the King, and you looked about thirteen or fourteen."

That cemented it.

"That would be the dream cycle. Masters and Servants will have 'dreams' of the past while they sleep."

Mashiro's face when she turned to look at him was positively adorable, in his opinion.

"Then why did I dream of you when you were only thirteen or so? I would think I'd have dreams of you with Enkidu or something."

Gilgamesh was beginning to a different reason why Mashiro would have dreams of his childhood. When she mentioned it, that particular day came back pretty strong.

That was the day he was introduced to someone who could be his equal, relatively speaking. The half-goddess daughter of the Moon Queen Serenity.

A girl who looked more innocent than any person he had ever seen.

Perhaps too innocent, considering it had been her engagement that destroyed the Moon Kingdom and Atlantis.

"I'm guessing you saw the day I first met the Moon Princess and her mother, the Queen," said Gilgamesh.

If anyone could be called his equal, both in power and influence, it would be the Moon Princess. You could say she had been his first...and only...crush. A pity she fell for that twit Endymion, who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with his spells. Either that or Serenity wanted to shut up her court because her daughter kept skipping out on lessons to visit Earth and just happened to use the way point gate to Atlantis because it was the easiest one to slip through without anyone noticing her.

Hell, the main reason he had created those hanging gardens was to try and get her to come visit more often! He knew she loved flowers!

"...There's an actual moon princess?" said Mashiro.

Sakura, who had walked in on that question, tilted her head.

"Wait, so the tale of Princess Kaguya is real?"

"Who?" said Saber.

"Princess Kaguya? The tale of the Bamboo Cutter?" said Mashiro.

Seeing the pair of blank faces, she explained.

"An old bamboo cutter was out collecting bamboo when he saw a stalk that shined. When he cut it open he found an infant girl of extraordinary beauty. As the girl turned into an adult, she had countless suitors. Eventually her father implored her to find a suitor and marry him...so she gave them each an impossible task. Each of the five suitors attempted to collect the item she demanded, and each failed. Then the Emperor tried to court her, and in the end she left and returned to the moon where she came from," said Mashiro.

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter had always been her favorite Japanese myth.

"While that is an interesting story, the moon princess is nothing like that," said Gilgamesh.

"Like you would know. Frankly I'm surprised you haven't started trying to force me into being your Queen yet," said Saber caustically. She disliked Gilgamesh and his arrogant attitude... enough said.

"Let's see, try to court a tomboy with gender issues or stay on the good side of someone who might actually be able to MATCH me and has a charisma rank to match mine?" said Gilgamesh sarcastically. "And yes, I would know about the Moon Kingdom and the real rulers because I actually MET them and they visited quite often before it was destroyed."

Sure the royal consort was more or less a breeding tool for the Queen and there was no way she would marry a mortal only to watch him die, but every once in a while the next Goddess would marry someone and grant them immortality as long as their own lasted.

"Wait... Moon Kingdom? Wouldn't the Americans have noticed something like a kingdom on the moon when they went up there?" said Mashiro.

"Where exactly did they land?" asked Gilgamesh.

Mashiro took out her laptop and searched, showing him the general area that people believed the Americans landed on.

"Too close to the dark side of the moon. The Kingdom is right inside what is now known as the 'Sea of Serenity', because it was named after the Queen. And even if they did stumble across it, there was a bunch of protection spells around the place. Old spells that were bypassed because the attack came from the Atlantis way point gate."

"Wait... 'Atlantis way point gate'?" said Sakura incredulous.

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes.

"Babylon, Atlantis and the Moon Kingdom were allies before the attack. When the Moon Kingdom was destroyed in a night, the backlash sent Atlantis into the sea with the survivors fleeing to Babylon. The destruction of _that_ destroyed the Tower of Babel, and eventually the Universal Language was forgotten for personal dialects that lead to the multiple languages you know of today. Usually because of the differences of accent," he explained.

"So how exactly was this Moon Kingdom destroyed?"

"Because Endymion, the Prince and heir of Atlantis had a noble woman who was courting him until he started dating the Princess, and she was an extremely bad loser. She broke a seal the Queen had placed on a malevolent force that attacked the night the engagement was supposed to be announced, which happened to be the Princess' fifteenth birthday party. All the nobles and the Inner Court for the Princess were there, and since they had never had a war in over a thousand years they were over run and the kingdom destroyed. I do remember the Queen using the royal Noble Phantasm against the noble woman and the force to seal them...as well as something else I wasn't able to catch."

Though considering how strong a resemblance Mashiro had to the innocent princess, it was likely Serenity had sent her daughter and the courts ahead until they could be reborn and hopefully deal with that fool Beryl once they were old enough. Hell, if she put her hair up into the odd style the Princess favored, she would be a dead ringer for the girl!

"So let me get this straight. Two great kingdoms fell...because the love triangle between a prince's ex and his fiance got out of hand?" said Mashiro incredulous, her eyebrows twitching. That had to be the world record for being a sore loser. "That sounds about as rational as the mass panic from the Americans because of a radio play."

"Mass panic?" said Saber.

"Some producer by the name of Orson Welles wrote a play called _The War of the Worlds_ and performed it on a radio. He did it in the form of a news bulletin and sparked mass panic in a single night, scaring the wits out of millions of Americans...right up until they found out it was just a radio play. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Just curious why a Japanese girl would know about an American radio play," said Saber.

"It was free at the bookstore I get my manga from, buy three books and get one free. It was the only one that looked interesting and it got me an easy A on a history essay one month."

"I remember that. Taiga congratulated you for using an American example instead of a Japanese one," said Sakura.

"I think we're getting off topic here. I still have to come up with the final design for my 'Artemis' costume, and you still have to finish breakfast," said Mashiro.

"What part needs finishing?" asked Gilgamesh.

"The hair style. I'll need something that 'Mashiro' wouldn't be caught dead in as an everyday style, otherwise someone might figure out I'm a fake too soon," said Mashiro frustrated. The problem was that she often _changed_ her hair style at least once a week, if not once a day. Usually involving either a thin French braid or a thick rope.

"May I make a suggestion?" said Gilgamesh, an idea forming in his head to complete the idea that Mashiro might be the Moon Princess reincarnated.

Seeing the odd hair style she had never considered, since it often came with flashbacks for some reason, Mashiro agreed it was worth a shot. Fortunately she had hair long enough to pull off the look.

The hair style? A pair of buns that left two long pigtails down each side, with her bangs highlighting her face rather than having to be pinned back. Add into the odd tiara that had a crescent moon in the center, and she would look like some form of Moon Goddess, which was the point.

The really weird thing was that the hairstyle looked really, really familiar for some odd reason.


	3. Chapter 3

Mashiro was up on a roof with Gilgamesh, in her new "Artemis Archer" costume. She had a Greek dress that went down to her knees, shoes from the same era, and a bow that came straight from Gilgamesh's vault from that time period that belonged to some minor heroine that was given a gift by the Goddess herself. As such it already had moon runes on it, so there were no need to add any other than using Mashiro's special arrows.

For anyone other than a Greek hero/anti-hero, they would likely mistake Mashiro, or "Artemis" as the Archer Servant.

It didn't help that with a few tweaks such as make-up and a permanent marker, they were able to switch the 'Command Seals' from Mashiro to Gilgamesh, or at least made it look that way.

But the biggest change was the odd tiara on her forehead (also courtesy of Gilgamesh, though why he had what was clearly a princess tiara in his vault she really, really didn't want to know) and the new 'odango' hairstyle.

Strangely, when she set her mind about putting her hair up like that her hands went about the task without any actual input from her mind at all. Almost like she had done it a thousand times before and never had to actually think about doing it. Which was odd, because the most she did was braid her hair to keep it out of her face.

Still, even Sakura had to admit she could fit the part of Artemis, which was all that mattered. Saber was still very bitchy for some reason about how 'underhanded' and 'dishonorable' the plan was.

"So...mind explaining what the hell has Saber's panties in a bunch about you?"

"I tried to make her my queen in the last war, failed miserably because of that damn pride of hers, and we were the last two standing. As such she's held a grudge against me since," Gilgamesh summed up.

"...And the reason you're less of an ass like she claims...?"

"Ask me that question when you can finally remember the name of the girl who killed herself because she was an idiot in your dream," said Gilgamesh flatly.

Considering from what little she heard from Saber about his actions in the last war, Gilgamesh had been a complete _ass_ on par with Shinji, except he had an actual REASON to be. He had the power to back up his claims and didn't care if it was some random civilian or an enemy Servant.

Which somewhat bothered her, because she automatically _expected_ him to be nice to her to the point he openly treated her like an equal from the start, but had no idea why. She suspected it was the same reason she saw him from a child's perspective, instead of his.

Spotting her target, Mashiro grinned.

"Let's see how Lancer enjoys being shot at by a Greek Goddess," said Mashiro.

"No go. He'll recognize me pretty damn fast and Kirei has wired himself to Lancer's eyes. The last thing I want to deal with is him again."

Sure, Gilgamesh put up with the priest while bored in the years after the war, but now that he had what he was almost sure was the reincarnation of the Moon Princess he could care less. He wasn't losing her twice. It was so rare to find someone who could even hope to be his equal. Whether it was power, influence...or beauty.

He was not going to lose her to that twit Endymion twice, because if _she_ had been reincarnated, then the rest of them had too!

At least Sailor Saturn had been fun to have around, if only because of her sarcastic wit and the ability to prophecise. Then again, she had been against Endymion's match with Serenity

She was the only one who foresaw that Beryl would be a problem later. Even Pluto hadn't done anything to stop the engagement, and she SHOULD have seen it coming.

"Rider?" said Mashiro, pointing at Rin and her Servant running about on the roofs.

"I was her father's Servant in the last war," said Gilgamesh.

"Berserker is out because I want to save Illya. Which leaves..."

"Caster and Assassin," said Gilgamesh.

"Let's go troll some Servants!" said Mashiro happily, now that they've worked out a plan of attack.

Gilgamesh smirked. He liked this version of Serenity far more than he had the original. At least this one wasn't so naïve.

* * *

Mashiro took one look at the Assassin at the gate, and he gave her a curt smile in return.

"Archer, I assume?"

"My Goddess here is eager to test her bow against the human Heroes of old. It seems she didn't have much of a chance to avoiding the amorous attempts of gods and humans alike," said Gilgamesh easily, showing off the 'Command Seals' on his hand that looked like a bow.

Assassin inclined his head to "Archer", who nodded politely back.

"I'm afraid I must decline, unless you wish to test your mettle against me to breach the gate.

Gilgamesh looked at the sword in his hand.

"You're not a real Hero, are you?"

"I am merely a human who has mastered a single art so absolutely that my name became legend," Assassin replied.

"Which means that the Seven of Seven rule has yet to be observed. Interesting."

"Unless you wish to breach the gate, I must ask you to leave."

"Hmph. A nameless Hero is of no use to us. Artemis, we're leaving."

"As you wish," said 'Archer', her face obscured partially by the 'mask' she wore. It was similar to the one Sailor V had while fighting.

When they reached the house, Gilgamesh promptly brought out Mashiro's scrying crystal.

"Well?" asked Saber.

"Assassin isn't a true Hero. He's likely some extra that was summoned by Caster, because his blade had no added effects," said Gilgamesh promptly. Aside from being a well crafted blade, there was nothing else going for it. A nameless man lost to the annuls of history, and therefor not worth his attentions.

"Think they fell for the 'Artemis' routine?" asked Mashiro.

"Tohsaka certainly has, as well as that fool Kirei," said Gilgamesh.

"Bet you Illya saw the whole thing too and is looking up Artemis as we speak," said Mashiro with a sing-song voice.

* * *

 _In the homes of several Masters (including one Servant)..._

Books were being poured open and searched through to find any weaknesses in the Servant that had been so carelessly identified as a Goddess by the name Artemis.

In the case of some, Servants were being consulted on what little they knew of the Greek moon deity.

Rider, who was the Gorgon Medusa, had little to say about the sister of the one who drove her insane. She knew what Athena looked like, but not her sister Artemis. All she knew of the moon goddess was that she was an eternal maiden, sworn never to feel the embrace of a man.

Which, in modern times, could easily be translated to the idea that she might be a lesbian who was also an extreme feminist.

It would certainly explain a lot.

* * *

With Caster, who was the Witch of Betrayal known as Medea, she was having similar problems disproving that the female was not in fact Artemis, the Greek moon goddess. Like Medusa, she had no personal contact with the moon goddess and had avoided the gods after the spell Aphrodite placed on her broke. The clothing fit the period, as did the shoes and weapon, but after that there was something off.

For one thing, the casual way the Master had blatantly revealed her identity screamed 'cover-up'. Yes, the girl had an archer's stance, and she was clearly comfortable with a bow in her hand, but the rest seemed fake.

Which made her suspect that it was actually the "Master" who was the Servant, while the real master played at the Servant. An odd strategy, unless one considered the fact that an enemy Magus would almost immediately try to kill the Master while the Servants went at it...only to find that the roles had been reversed.

The Master would have to be supremely confident of their abilities to pull such a strategy off...or the Servant would have to be someone so strong that the danger to the Master was small enough to risk it.

Either way, it meant that the two blonds were now infinitely more dangerous to her immediate plans than the albino and Berserker.

In the church, Kirei was wondering how the hell Gilgamesh had acquired a Servant...if she was a Servant. At least now he knew that someone had managed to summon Gilgamesh a second time and had snagged the Golden King straight from Kirei. Though why he hadn't returned and acted so cozy with the girl was a mystery.

Last he checked, Gilgamesh had been firmly fixated on Saber, King Arthur.

It seems he would have to investigate the new Master of Gilgamesh, if only to determine how to get his best Servant back.

* * *

"Is it bad that I find Rin's attempts to maintain a poker face while trying to figure out how to defeat 'Archer' hilarious?" asked Sakura on the roof.

"Not really, considering I share a class with her and watching her try to work out strategies was funny."

* * *

Rin was at her wits end trying to figure out how to defeat Archer, the Goddess Artemis since her 'Master' carelessly let slip her true name.

The weird thing was that both the Servant and the Master looked so damn familiar!

The "Master" looked a lot like a half-remembered memory of her father's servant ten years ago, but she had never really gotten a good look at him.

And the Servant...he claimed she was the Goddess Artemis, but something didn't add up. For one thing, she didn't think a goddess would go around with such a weird hairstyle. By all accounts the Moon Goddess was a tomboy...even Rider said as much to that effect.

Rin had the sneaking suspicion that the blond who had so casually dropped the name 'Artemis' was in fact the Servant, and that the other blond was the Master. By standing so close together it would be exceeding difficult to determine who was who, and so long as the Master had the skill to pull of the ruse, being exceptional at archery in this instance, it would become even harder.

Rin had to admit, it was a brilliant strategy. Most Masters would think to target the other Master while there Servants fought. It was also a _dangerous_ strategy. If they found themselves against someone like Berserker, it would get them killed in a hurry.

Unless the real Servant was so strong that it negated the danger to the point it was a moot point, and the whole thing was simply a trap to lower their guard for those crucial moments.

"Gah! This entire thing is giving me a headache!" said Rin in frustration.

Maybe she was over thinking it and the red-eyed blond really _had_ summoned Artemis.

"Problems?"

"I'm hoping I'm over-thinking this entire thing, and that really _was_ Artemis."

"I highly doubt it was, but there is a way to find out," said Rider.

"What way?"

"We confront them in battle. If it _is_ Artemis, she'll recognize me on sight. If not, then we'll have at least blown the cover of the real Master."

* * *

Illyasviel wasn't an idiot. The moment she saw the blond hair and blue eyes, she recognized her adopted sister on sight.

She had to applaud the idea of playing the Servant though. That act had been beautifully orchestrated, and if not for the hair and the sound of her voice Illya wouldn't have guessed what her 'sister' was up to.

It was devious, daring and absolutely deceptive. And if she was willing to play at being an Archer Servant, Illya wasn't about to blow her sibling's cover. At least not for now.

So instead she focused on her "Master". Illya scoured the books for a golden haired Servant with red eyes.

* * *

" _It's so beautiful!"_

 _They were consider the wonder of the world...the hanging gardens of Babylon._

 _Many assumed the arrogant king was tired of seeing plain roofs whenever he gazed out from his golden palace, but a select few knew the true._

 _He had done it solely to impress a certain girl. Much like the mortal men that served him, King Gilgamesh wanted to impress a girl over his possible rival._

 _Endymion might be the Prince of Atlantis, but he didn't have the authority or the charisma of Gilgamesh._

 _He couldn't have convinced the_ entire _city of Babylon to create gardens of flowers and fruits just to impress the Moon Princess. Not that the citizens were complaining mind you. The gardens were a nice addition to the city and relatively tame compared to what he could have come up with._

 _It was little secret the Princess loved the Earth's scenery, and would always gravitate towards gardens and flowers more than grand structures. Unfortunately the Moon's climate made it impossible to fill the entire surface with gardens, so they were limited to the royal palace._

 _The princess started visiting Babylon more often since the gardens grew in, which was what Gilgamesh wanted._

 _If one were to compare Gilgamesh and Endymion, Gilgamesh would come out on top in most respects._

 _Endymion was a good prince, but he expected to rule as equals with the Queen, to have her fight at his side. He needed the power of the Moon Queen in order to fight off the darkness that lusted after her Royal Power._

 _Gilgamesh was a king, already born a hero and able to rule since he was old enough to sit on the throne without help. He didn't expect the Princess to fight on the front lines to maintain the peace...he wanted her to be the secondary defense getting the civilians and others out. He didn't desire her for power, glory or even money. He wanted the Princess because it was lonely at the top and she was quite possibly the only true equal he would ever find in a wife._

 _He would have the princess as his wife, and no other._

 _So when the news came from his people about the possible engagement to Endymion, Gilgamesh was disappointed._

 _When he heard about the destruction of the Kingdom because the Queen chose the snot-nosed prince over him, he was angry. Had Beryl not be sealed he would have killed her for even daring to think she was even worthy to compare to the Princess._

 _In the days following the destruction of Atlantis and the Moon dynasty, Gilgamesh's attitude went from easy going and gentle to arrogant and cruel. The people mourned not only for the loss of the two kingdoms, but for the loss of their king who actually cared._

 _And then one of the lesser Goddesses tried to make him her next husband, leading to the end of their kingdom as well._

Mashiro sat up after that dream, and it took a few moments to realize she was crying. Crying for the loss of Gilgamesh's first love, and the senseless loss of life.

She had always wondered what it was that had turned Gilgamesh from a sweet child to a cold hearted and arrogant man who turned his back against the gods. The poem never stated what it was that sparked that particular change.

Losing someone you were in love with, but too proud to admit the fact you were in love with them, sounded as good a reason as any.

* * *

Gilgamesh was having a dream of Mashiro's life. The dream cycle went two ways, after all.

At first he saw the fire, the brief and important moments of her life.

Then he started to see other memories. Memories that Mashiro shouldn't have.

He saw the hanging gardens, the beauty of Atlantis, the sight of the Moon Kingdom as the sun rose over the horizon.

Seeing the earth from that perspective was breathtaking, even for someone like him. It was pure, untainted from the machinations of men and gods. It was as pure as the Moon Princess herself, in his eyes.

Gilgamesh was now almost positive that Mashiro was the Moon princess reincarnated. Now he just had to wait for her to wake up properly.

Saber was a nice distraction, but his heart would always belong to Princess Serenity.


	4. Chapter 4

Gilgamesh and 'Artemis' were on a roof. Thanks to a rather interesting piece of magic called the 'Eye of True Mind' which all Archer Servants got automatically when summoned, Mashiro could see the rivets on the bridge.

Just because he was a king didn't mean he never learned magic. After what happened to the Princess because of Endymion's ex-lover, Gilgamesh swore it would never happen to him. If he couldn't end a threat with his sword, he would use magic instead.

So casting the Eye of True Mind on Mashiro was child's play. And with how fast she could fire her bow, anyone would mistake her for Archer.

"Target acquired. Any idea what class that is?"

"It would have to be Rider. That's the only class unaccounted for, and she moves too swiftly to be Caster," said Gilgamesh. He was frowning though.

"What is it?"

"Something about her makes me want to end her personally, and I don't know why," he said, his more arrogant side starting to rear it's ugly head.

Mashiro did a quick guess in her head.

Blindfold, swift movements, instant dislike despite not having an identity from Gilgamesh? From what she knew he hated snakes with a passion.

Blindfold and snake only brought one possible legend to mind, but she would have to confirm it.

The two waited until Rider and her Master (Rin) were within speaking distance of them.

"Artemis," said Rider evenly.

"Medusa," said Mashiro, because that was the _only_ name she could think of that might be able to recognize the Moon goddess on sight, or expect Artemis to recognize her immediately. The blindfold and Gilgamesh's instant dislike of her had helped narrow the field enough to make a decent guess.

Rider inclined her head, before turning to Rin.

"It's her. No other Greek Servant would radiate this much energy on a full moon," said Rider.

Wait, what? Mashiro fought the urge to look at Gilgamesh.

"I suppose there's nothing left to do but this," said Mashiro, pulling an arrow out from her quiver and notching it. The bow's runes began glowing in anticipation, and the moon runes were clearly visible.

"Wait! We didn't come here to fight!" said Rin quickly.

"Speak your words fast, peasant, and I might be inclined to let you live," said Gilgamesh imperiously.

Mashiro didn't chastise him. Most Magi were arrogant jerks to begin with, and the more arrogant he acted the more people would think he was from one of the older established families and dismiss Mashiro until it came time to fight. That combined with his self-assured attitude and casual dismissal of the 'lesser' Magi made it even more convincing.

Saber had been appalled, but Sakura had immediately approved of the trick. For once Gilgamesh's arrogance was a _good_ thing.

"Out of all the Servants, Berserker poses the greatest threat. Rider and I can't take them on our own, and with his God Hand active it would take the combined efforts of more than one pair of Servants to deal with him," said Rin.

"Herakles is indeed a threat, but the bigger concern is Caster. Unless it was you and Medusa who has been draining all those people until they were mere shells," said Mashiro evenly.

"What?!" said Rin, turning her body to face Mashiro.

"All those attacks and not once did you even think? I have some serious misgivings if you are considered a 'prodigy' of human magic," said Mashiro with a slight condescending tone.

Honestly, while Illya and Berserker were an open threat, Rin should have been looking at Caster first. Caster was the ONLY Servant who could pull off a fake summoning and get an Assassin who didn't even have a single Noble Phantasm to his name, and if they hadn't gotten a proper Magus they would need to drain people in order to stay active. Ergo, Caster was a bigger threat, considering if they weren't stopped they could expose them all and bring the Magus Association and the Church down on their collective heads. Kami only knew Kotomine wouldn't get involved unless he had to.

For Rin to so casually dismiss Caster because they hadn't made an appearance was sheer idiocy. Magi needed TIME to prepare their mysteries and attacks. Something that was in ample supply so long as the Masters were more focused on the obvious threat of Herakles.

Berserker was the least of their problems.

Rin gritted her teeth, because this was a Servant and Master, and something about the blonds set her on edge.

Had she known about the combined charisma ranking (which was only worse with them both together and close to her) she would have been even more on guard.

"Look, do you want an alliance or not?"

"You'll have to ask our current allies if they want the extra help," said Gilgamesh with a smirk.

"Who are your current allies?"

"The Matou girl and her Servant Saber. Unless you can bring something worth our time, don't bother showing up," he replied.

It was unlikely Rin would be able to provide anything that Sakura couldn't. Her wish was to restore her family's glory, because the Tohsaka used real jewels in their research. Jewels that cost money.

After all, their only contribution to the Grail Wars was the location.

* * *

Mashiro took one step in the school, and bristled. Much like a cat. Sakura didn't have to ask. She could feel the _wrongness_ in the air.

"Caster, you think?"

"We've been running Rin around, and I don't see her pulling something like this off. At least, not so close to the school. Too risky," said Mashiro.

Sakura nodded in agreement. Lancer was more of a one-on-one fighter, Saber would never consider something so cowardly, Berserker didn't have the skills (or the mind) to think of attacking the school, Archer would never dare harm his Master (if only because he wanted to stay on her good side for some reason), and Assassin was apparently just a gate guardian.

Which left Rider or Caster. Considering the location, it was more likely Caster was the culprit, because Rin was too visible to have set something like this up without someone mentioning odd behavior. The last thing she would think to try was to put a nasty bounded field over the school when it could easily be traced back to her.

Seeing Rin head towards Sakura, Mashiro inclined her head to the girl. Sakura had already been told about the encounter two nights ago.

In other words she got to mess with her sister for a bit while Mashiro planned on how to deal with the barrier.

* * *

"So we're agreed?" said Mashiro, sipping tea at the table.

"This is not the sort of act I would agree with," said Saber.

"Yes, well this is a preemptive measure. Considering three of the seven Masters attend the school, it might end up a battleground with a lot of witnesses. So taking out the building while no one is there is a way to avoid unnecessary casualties," explained Mashiro.

Saber looked unhappy. She didn't agree with destroying a building, even if she did agree with why Mashiro planned to.

"Look at it this way. If we destroy the school building and the archery club building, then it means that there's a smaller chance of it falling prey to the so-called 'gas leaks' that have been happening lately. And I don't want Lancer or Berserker showing up to challenge you, Archer or Rin's Servant Rider and having my school friends caught in the crossfire."

"I just think destroying a building to get rid of a barrier is overkill is all."

"It's not like I'm planning to have you do it. I'm sure he has a sword or something we could use... you just have remove any witnesses from the premises before we blow it up," said Mashiro.

"Acceptable," said Saber.

Mashiro waited until after school, where the risk of there being innocent bystanders are lessened greatly. She made no sign that she knew a good chunk of the school was about to be blown up while she lead the Archery club.

Coincidentally she went looking into alternative schools after she came up with the plan, with input from Sakura. At the moment they were seriously looking into the Jyuban, Karakura and Shin Tokyo districts.

Mashiro refused to go to any school that she couldn't attend with Sakura.

* * *

With the school cleared of the living, it was time for the pairs to get to work.

Sakura and Saber went about trying to see if they could find the origin for the barrier. Mashiro and Gilgamesh stayed on the roof (once Sakura cleared it) to make sure no one disturbed them. If there was a fight, then Mashiro had nothing against damaging the school in order to get to Sakura quickly.

They went room by room, destroying anything that had a rune or sigil on it. This was a non-magical school, with only two or three Magic-users in it. There was no reason for there to be any runes or magical sigils _anywhere_.

" _This is Sakura. We've found a bunch of the anchor points in the classroom. Still haven't identified the main one."_

Mashiro was about ready to do a little investigating of her own.

"Can you handle any witnesses that come by? You don't have to kill them, but scaring the hell out of them is acceptable," said Mashiro.

"Fine, but if you find the main anchor before the others do, call me."

 _Twenty minutes later..._

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! WHEN I FIND WHOEVER MADE THIS I'M GOING TO KICK THEIR ASS!"

Sakura winced.

"Mashiro must have found the main anchor."

"Wonder why she sounded so enraged..." said Saber.

"Only _one_ thing would piss her off that much..." said Sakura sweatdropping.

The two went and ran into Gilgamesh who looked equally as baffled.

Mashiro was in the one club room most people were baffled she belonged to.

The Anime/Cosplay club. Most people avoided it, solely because of the fact that the Cosplay section were always looking for vic...er, happy 'volunteers', and Mashiro was considered the 'head' of the Cosplay club, even if she couldn't sew worth a damn.

She could fix the TV, DVD player and the stereo system in ten minutes, but she couldn't sew. Then again, it was a minor miracle she could cook nearly as well as she did. And the garden outside her house wasn't her doing...it was all Sakura, who had a better green thumb.

She got a lot of practice thanks to the fact she was the only one who _could_ cook considering Kiritsugu could barely boil water and Taiga could set fire to the kitchen trying to make rice.

So why was Mashiro so pissed?

Sakura took one look at the runes on the life-sized Sailor V cut out, and winced. Whoever did this obviously wasn't aware that Mashiro was a die-hard Sailor V Otaku, and took offense whenever someone disparaged the mini-skirted magical girl.

She could care less about the reported 'furry sidekick' of Sailor V, because Mashiro was allergic to cats. At least, that was what she claimed anyway.

She once heard the blond girl mutter in her sleep _"Death to the small and fuzzy!"_

"...Should we be worried?"

"Only if we can't get the runes off that cut-out. Whoever did this clearly isn't aware Mashiro is a die-hard fan of Sailor V."

Gilgamesh eyed the cut out with distaste.

"More like Sailor Venus," he said with a snort. Then he turned to Sakura and asked "Does this girl come with a white cat with a crescent moon like the one on Mashiro's hand on it's forehead? With blue eyes?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Definitely Princess Venus then. I'd recognize her anywhere, and the cat only cements it," said Gilgamesh.

"Princess Venus?" said Mashiro.

"All the planets in this solar system have a princess attached, and they were all placed in the court of the Moon Princess. Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter were the 'inner' court, while Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were the 'outer' court. Though it was widely considered that the 'outers' were much stronger and better trained, since they didn't waste their time having to track down the Moon princess or dealing with the life of a noble. Pluto was rarely seen because she spends most of her time protecting the Gates of Time, which are forbidden except in extreme circumstances. And don't get me started on how unpopular Saturn was, despite being the easiest of the Outer court to talk to," said Gilgamesh.

"Does anyone else have a headache?" asked Mashiro. The other girls nod. "Right. Let's get rid of this thing and then you can tell us all you know about the Moon Kingdom, since I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to come back and haunt us sooner rather than later."

It took them two hours to remove the bounded field set to drain the entire school...and much to the dismay of Saber it still involved having to hit it with one of Gilgamesh's more destructive swords since it was being extremely stubborn.

Fortunately Mashiro moved all the costumes and the collection for the club, because she didn't want to be responsible for the loss.

On the plus side, they didn't have to go to school tomorrow. The downside... Taiga might end up hanging around the house more often.

Meh, it was an acceptable risk.

* * *

Rin was twitching. After the blast last night school had been canceled until A, the cause was determined, and B, the mess had been cleaned up.

At least it meant she didn't have to worry about her acquaintances being caught in the crossfire. With two of the three Masters in the school it would have been easy to attack and get rid of the competition. Plus it meant she didn't have to see that damn Mashiro Emiya again. A girl she considered her rival.

Honestly, how could a girl who was that ditzy be so popular?! It made no sense!

"I believe I know why the school was attacked, Master."

"What."

"Someone set a bounded field around it. I sensed it shortly after I followed you into the gates. I believe the school was attacked to get rid of it, and limit the number of casualties."

"What makes you say that?"

"The timing. They hit it during a time when there would be a limited number of people in the building, and if they were careful they would have cleared it out before attacking."

"You're saying these gas leaks were bounded fields?"

"Well either that or there was a fight at the school that lead to a complete overkill attack," said Rider.

* * *

Illyasviel was somewhat impressed. Sure, they had destroyed a public building, but the fact was they thwarted Caster's plan to drain the school. And it meant that the school wouldn't be a target, considering there were three masters there. It gave her...sister...time to plan her next attack.

However it didn't mean Mashiro Emiya would survive the next encounter with Illya, considering next time she would be bringing Berserker out to play.


	5. Chapter 5

Rin Tohsaka was not looking forward to this. Sure, Sakura would be there, but there was also...Mashiro. Just the mere name of that girl made Rin grit her teeth.

Rider was waiting in the wings, Astralized like a proper Servant should be.

Rin knocked, and saw...her.

"Well come in already! And tell Rider she better be on her best behavior! I'll not have a fight between Servants that levels my kitchen, or there will be hell to pay!" said Mashiro firmly.

Rin shuddered. There was a certain tone of voice Mashiro had that brokered no argument, pleas, or compromise.

She honestly had NO idea Mashiro was that protective of her kitchen.

Rin walked in, Rider by her side, and suddenly her Servant shivered.

The golden haired man with red eyes was glaring at her.

"What is _he_ doing here?" asked Rin. His face tugged at her memory, and it wasn't from running into him the other night.

"That will be explained later. Now, what exactly can you bring to our partnership, _Tohsaka_ -san?" asked Sakura, her voice bitter. Rin winced.

"First off, I can bring you back into the family since Zouken is dead and Shinji is in no position to argue against it. Even if you are the current Makiri head, there's nothing that says I can't adopt you back," said Rin, hopeful. She wanted her sister back dammit.

"Actually I already adopted Sakura-chan into the Emiya clan, and had it filed under Clock Tower," said Mashiro.

Officially Sakura's name was now Sakura Emiya. Effectively the Makiri line was no more, unless Shinji had children that actually HAD circuits. Which wasn't likely.

Rin slumped a little.

"I can offer the Tohsaka library, barring the books in my father's personal study, which are for family only."

"We can offer the Makiri library, including the family research... except anything pertaining the Heaven's Feel, at least for now," said Sakura. Just because she wanted her sister back didn't mean she trusted Rin completely.

"And what about...Mashiro," said Rin through gritted teeth.

"We agree not to turn you and your Servant into meaty chunks full of sharp and pointy things, as well as food and board," said Gilgamesh flatly.

Rider noticed the outright glare he was leveling at her.

"Did I do something to piss you off in another life?" she asked, equally flat.

"I despise _snakes_ , is all. And I can tell just from looking at you that you're a snake," said Gilgamesh.

The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife...until...

"OW! Quit hitting me with that damn ladle!"

"No fighting this close to _MY_ kitchen!" barked Mashiro, eyes ablaze.

Rin shivered. Mashiro was damn scary like this.

"Mashiro really, really hates having to order out. Fujimura-san is bad enough when she has to pay for the groceries...trying to pay for delivery is ten times worse," explained Sakura. She neglected to add that Saber's surprising black hole for a stomach made it even more expensive.

It was just lucky Gilgamesh seemed to have an open 'thing' for his Master, otherwise they would never be able to properly afford it.

Honestly, Sakura was just wondering when they were going to quit pretending they didn't like each other and just get on with it already.

"Wait, wait, wait... you want us to _ask_ the von Einzbern representative if she wants in on storming Caster's hiding spot?!" said Rin incredulous.

"She is my adopted older sister. Besides, if we phrase it right she might agree to it. If not, well, my Servant would be more than capable of handling almost anything Caster throws at us."

"Almost anything?" repeated Gilgamesh.

"Never underestimate someone just because you think you've got the upper hand. I'd rather over estimate whoever was summoned as Caster than be caught off guard and about to die," said Mashiro firmly. Rin nodded in agreement. It was a sound strategy, in concerns to an unknown opponent.

Then what she said caught up to her.

"Wait, _adopted older sister_?!"

"Illyasviel von Einzbern is Kiritsugu's daughter, the man who acted as their representative in the last war. However, despite being the only one to actually reach the Grail, he failed to retrieve it. Mashiro said her father mentioned there was some sort of taint in the Grail itself which was why he ordered me to destroy it," said Saber.

And boy, hadn't that been a nasty surprise for Saber. Learning there was something unpleasant in the Grail and find out Kiritsugu had noticed in time to keep her from being touched by it. Why hadn't he just explained it _before_ ordering her to destroy it?

"I have a question for Goldie here," said Rin, pointing rather rudely at Gilgamesh. "Why do I have the odd feeling of deja vu about you, and I don't mean because we ran into each other a few nights ago when you were with your Servant Artemis, the Greek Moon goddess."

Gilgamesh barely kept the urge to mouth the word 'Goldie' to himself. Instead he rolled his eyes.

"Because you weren't exactly worthy enough to me when you were still a snot-nosed brat the last time you saw me," said Gilgamesh equally rude.

Rin's eyes widened at the implication, before she realized what he was implying.

"You mean to tell me _your_ the Servant my Father summoned ten years ago?! But if you're a _Servant_ , then how in the hell did you summon..."

"Honestly Rin, haven't you ever heard of MISDIRECTION?" said Mashiro snickering.

Rin glared at her.

"You. You're Artemis! How on earth were you planning to keep up that ruse as an Archer Servant?"

"Rin, I'm the _Captain_ of the Archery Club. I've never missed unless I _planned_ to miss. That combined with the spell he cast on me at my request, and I could practically snipe anything I wanted."

"It's true. Mashiro-taicho is the reason our school has won _every_ single archery competition since she was scouted early in middle school," added Sakura. Taiga had practically forced the girl to join, after realizing she had sharp eyes.

Less than two months after she joined (it took that long for her muscles to get used to the strain) Mashiro took the archery world by storm. The second she went to high school, she was elevated to Captain almost immediately. And ever since, their school has won every archery competition without fail. Mashiro was their good luck charm!

"Prove it," said Rin. Then again, she had never seen Mashiro shoot, considering she disliked the girl and didn't know why.

Mashiro sighed, then went to get her bow and arrow.

"Sakura, set up the descending targets, will you?"

Sakura went into the secondary shed, which was right next to the one Mashiro practiced her magic in, and pulled out a series of targets, each more difficult than the last.

Mashiro waited until Sakura was out of range, before she mentally marked each target in her mind's eye.

Then she closed her eyes, drew her arrow, and went through the steps as easily as breathing...and released. Ten times she drew an arrow, and ten times she hit each target dead on the mark. Rin's mouth dropped.

All this without having to look except for a brief moment.

"There's a reason she was made Captain as a freshman," said Sakura simply. And why Fujimura had her teach the newbies. They tended to listen to someone who could hit a target blindfolded and using ricochet.

"That's impossible!"

Mashiro snorted.

"Most of the club members focused on speed shooting and multi-shots. I focused on Accuracy until my fingers bled and Taiga had to hide the bow. Shooting multiple arrows is fine, but I find it's more efficient to just shoot one and get the job done without wasting my ammo," said Mashiro.

Most of the club members were shocked when they found out how much time Mashiro spent on accuracy.

Any idiot could shoot fast, or learn to aim more than three arrows at once. But only a _true_ archer would be able to hit accurately on even the smallest of targets.

Mashiro's first task when they got new recruits, whenever one asked why they focused so much on accuracy, was to tell the story of the three archers and the fish.

Mashiro fell into a familiar lecturing mode as she told the story to Rin.

"Once a king asked three archers to prove they were the best in the land. They were asked to hit a fish with a single arrow. All three hit the same fish, but when the king asked them what they were aiming at, each replied differently. The first said he was aiming at the body. The second said he was aiming at the fins. The third said he was aiming at the eye. Accuracy is what you make of it."

Rin looked at her in disbelief. Rider...was silently impressed. Mainly because she honestly didn't think Artemis herself put that much effort into learning how to shoot.

"See why I chose to act as an Archer Servant?" said Mashiro smugly.

As Gilgamesh so clearly reminded them with his mere presence, it wasn't arrogance if you really _were_ that good. And Mashiro had reason to be smug about her shooting.

* * *

As it turned out, their attempt to see if Illyasviel wanted in on the assault on Caster coincided with Lancer's attack on _her_.

This was a two-fold plan. One, it meant Lancer's Master knew full well Illya was the Lesser Grail and wanted to take her (and by extension Berserker) out of the equation, as only a piece of her...about the size of her heart...was needed. And two, there was a good chance this might draw out whoever had managed to take Gilgamesh from the fake Priest.

If either one of those objects was met, then Kirei's plan had succeeded.

The two 'maids' were either unconscious or dead. Illya was in the hands of Kirei Kotomine, his eyes as cold as the dead. It was clear he planned to kill her while Lancer lead Berserker on a merry chase far from the castle.

Mashiro stared at the scene in horror.

"Archer, stop him!" she shouted. She wasn't about to lose the ONLY connection to her dad she had left, and even if she barely knew Illyasviel personally, she was still family.

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes at an openly surprised Kirei. With a simple snapped of his fingers, chains captured the fake Priest. Since they were strong enough to hold a god, Kotomine didn't have a chance in hell of getting out of them.

Suddenly Kirei's right arm, which looked off color compared to the rest of his arm, flared briefly before growing dim. Illya winced as she felt Lancer return to the Grail.

Berserker immediately started thundering towards the castle.

"What do you want with my sister, you creep?" shouted Mashiro.

"Like a child would understand. Though I am surprised that my King would lower himself to working with a mere commoner such as yourself," said Kirei, sneering at her.

Gilgamesh snorted.

"The only _peasant_ I see before me is you, Kotomine. The fact you don't recognize royalty, even hidden as it is, is proof you are a commoner," Gilgamesh shot back.

Only royalty would have such a high charisma ranking like Mashiro did, even if it was currently diminished because her full power had yet to awaken.

Rin whispered to her sister "Wait, if Mashiro is royalty then what does that make us?"

"According to him, we're hand maidens," replied Sakura.

Which meant that while they weren't of noble blood, they did serve the "Princess" as Gilgamesh seemed to think Mashiro was. It was less insulting than being ranked as mere 'help', in Saber's opinion.

She could tolerate her Master being considered a highly valued hand maiden.

Rin frowned. She didn't like being equated to 'help' to a girl she could _barely_ tolerate. Mashiro was still too ditzy in her opinion, but at least she was still useful in a fight.

"That girl, royalty?" said Kirei, his disbelief positively dripping in his voice.

Suddenly Illya cried out in shock.

Mashiro was at her side in an instant. Her protective instincts were on overdrive.

"What's wrong?"

"Berserker..." she whimpered.

"It would seem Berserker has been defeated," said Rider.

"By who? Who could possibly kill Herakles so quickly without us hearing it?" said Rin.

"Who else? Caster has had more than enough time to come up with some nasty surprises. Gilgamesh, take care of this trash while we help Illya pack. I'm not leaving her here to the 'tender' mercies of other Masters now that Berserker is gone."

Gilgamesh looked far too pleased to end Kirei, despite their previous alliance.

Illya was still in shock over the sudden loss of her Servant. So Rin decided to breech the silence herself.

"What exactly did he mean by 'royalty'?"

Mashiro looked somewhat awkward.

"Archer has it in his head I'm the reincarnation of some Princess he knew and had a serious crush on while he was alive."

"Hold up... that poem didn't say anything about him being in love with a princess. The only thing it ever said about his love life was that a Goddess tried to marry him and he told her to get lost!" said Rin.

"He said that while his legend got written down, what happened to the Princesses kingdom was lost for some reason, despite the fact that the entire reason he had them create the hanging gardens of Babylon was so she'd have a reason to visit more than she did," said Mashiro.

"So what was this princess called?" asked Illya, still in shock but curious all the same.

"That's the thing. He won't tell me because he said that I should _remember_ who I was before," said Mashiro, slightly irritated.

The thing was that the name was on the tip of her tongue, like she knew it but couldn't remember.

They found chunks of Kotomine all over the place, and to the relief of Illya the maids were alive. Barely.


	6. Chapter 6

It was the dream again. Only this time, Mashiro felt something might be different about it.

" _Princess S... it's an honor to see such loveliness as yours again," said Gilgamesh._

 _It was one of the rare times her mother had left the Babylon gate relatively unguarded. Sometimes she suspected her mother wanted her to fall for Endymion, rather than the more interesting and friendly Gilgamesh._

 _Endymion was like most of the other noblemen in her mother's court. He was polite, but there wasn't any real sense of 'love' in it. Oh sure, if they were married it might eventually come. But whenever she was with Gilgamesh it was like he didn't expect her to be anything but herself. To be 'Se...' and not the next Moon Goddess._

 _Too bad she couldn't sneak through the Atlantis gate to get to Babylon._

Mashiro sat up. That was the closest she had ever gotten to the girl's name. It took her a few moments to realize there was something else in her bed. It was too small for Gilgamesh (not that he would dare, after her particularly inventive threat on what she would do to him if he did without her permission), and too light for Sakura. Not that Sakura spent any nights in Mashiro's room since Saber showed up..

Looking down she saw hair as pale as snow and a body too small for her actual age.

Huh. Who would have guessed Illya liked to snuggle almost as much as Mashiro did. As she looked at the clock, Mashiro decided there was only one sane thing to do.

Rearrange the covers so that Illya was covered up as well (which gave her enough room to practically squish her 'older' sister like a teddy bear) and go back to sleep.

Sakura could handle the breakfast today. She wanted to try and find the name of that Princess!

Illya snuggled closer to her sister. It was nice to be accepted so unconditionally the way Mashiro did.

* * *

"So let's review. Archer here believes Mashiro-nee-chan is some Moon Princess who died right before he quit believing in the Gods, and that she has somehow been reincarnated?" said Illya.

"How exactly did this kingdom get destroyed anyway?" asked Rin.

"A love triangle," deadpanned Gilgamesh.

"HUH?"

"Apparently the Prince she was engaged to had a lover, who didn't take the fact the girl was going to marry him instead of her very well. So she unsealed some monster and attacked the same night the announcement was to be made. Since practically the ENTIRE court was there for the occasion, which happened to be the girl's fifteenth birthday, the Kingdom was wiped out overnight. The aftershock of which destroyed the kingdom the Prince belonged to, which had been allied with Babylon at the time," clarified Sakura.

"Oh yeah? And what kingdom did this Prince happen to be the heir of?" asked Rin. She didn't believe this story for a minute.

"Atlantis," said Mashiro.

"EH?!"

"You're kidding, right?!" said Illya in shock.

"No. Atlantis and the Moon Kingdom were wiped out in a single night all because some woman was pissed she was cast aside in favor for the Princess," said Gilgamesh.

"And the girl MIGHT have lived if she hadn't been so stupid as to take her _own_ life without even trying to escape," said Mashiro crossly. She was still mad that the Princess hadn't even tried to fight or run away.

"That is the ultimate form of being a sore loser," said Illya in disbelief.

"The weird thing is that I don't think the Princess actually _liked_ the Prince that much," said Mashiro off hand.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well in the Dream cycle she felt that her mom didn't want her to visit Gilgamesh all that often, because the Babylon gate was guarded better than the Atlantis one. And she wasn't that enthusiastic about marrying him, because she felt he was like most of the noblemen in her mother's Court," said Mashiro, snacking on Sakura's muffins that she had made that morning.

Taiga was too busy trying to sort out the mess they made of the school to do more than a dine-and-dash. She was pleased that the girls were already looking into a new school until theirs could be fixed. Which didn't seem all that likely considering how much damage was done.

Once the war was over, Mashiro was going to make an anonymous donation to the school to fix the damage. Hopefully Gilgamesh would stick around after the war, so she COULD pay for the mess she made.

"It makes sense. Queen Serenity never did like me all that much, though I never found out _why_ ," said Gilgamesh. And after the entire kingdom died, he didn't have a way _to_ find out. It hadn't mattered in the end, though learning Princess Serenity wasn't exactly that crazy over Endymion did soothe his wounded pride...and give spark to the hope that maybe she had liked him better.

"I'm still in shock over 'there was a kingdom on the Moon' bit," said Rin.

"Well there is some proof it existed."

"Oh yeah? Where?"

Gilgamesh got up, went into Mashiro's Otaku-dedicated room, and dragged out the one picture of "Sailor V" that also included her pet cat, a white animal with a odd crescent moon shape on it's forehead.

"This is Sailor Venus, also known as the second-in-command of the Inner Senshi court, and the cat beside her is one of the Mau advisers for the Princess, Artemis."

"Mau advisers?" repeated the others.

"What, you only thought that this solar system was occupied with living sentient beings?" said Gilgamesh.

"So who or what are the Mau?"

Gilgamesh thought about how to explain this, before he came up with it.

"You know that series _Harry Potter_?"

They all nodded.

"Well the Mau are like the transfiguration teacher, except instead of being humans that turn into animals, specifically cats, they're animals who can take human form when needed. It takes a lot of energy though, and I've only ever seen two of them."

Mashiro made a face.

"Is that why I keep seeing this bossy velvet black cat with red eyes?" she asked.

"Luna, the special adviser and politics teacher to the Princess. The white cat, who you see on this picture, is her partner Artemis. He's the general teacher of the Inner court, since the Outers are more like the first line of Defense and only had to take the basic classes anyway. Out of the two of them, Artemis has always been easier to talk to."

"So this Luna was an old prude?" said Mashiro mischievously. That was certainly the vibe she got from the dreams anyway.

"That might be pushing it, but that sounds about right," said Gilgamesh. "Considering the Princess was a bit of an air head who hated to study, it's not that surprising... though she was an excellent ice skater."

"Whereas Mashiro-chan can't even stay upright on skates, let alone move," snickered Sakura.

"Hey, is it _my_ fault I had a major growth spurt when that stupid craze hit? Even Fuji-nee said it wasn't that bad I had trouble standing in those stupid things considering how lanky I was! And anyway, I'm the only student in 2nd year who already has a driver's license, even if it is for my motorcycle!" said Mashiro blushing.

"Motorcycle? Then why do you always walk to school?" asked Rin.

"Nowhere to park. In case you haven't noticed, the school barely has _bike_ racks, let alone a place to park a motorcycle like mine. Besides, I only got my license recently," said Mashiro.

Not to mention the fact that it would only attract the boys that liked 'bad girls' to her like flies.

"Can you even drive that thing?" asked Rin snidely.

"Let's see... Illya, would you like to be the one who helps me pick dinner tonight?" asked Mashiro.

"What?" said Illya in surprise.

"Well usually Sakura or Fuji-nee picks what we eat whenever I go to get groceries, but I bet you'd like to pick it tonight," said Mashiro, going into the outer room to get the helmets. One was hers, the other was for the passenger.

This would be the first time she rode with a passenger though.

* * *

"WOOHOO!"

Illya was officially loving the ride. She had only ever gone this fast on Berserker's shoulders when he was running full out through the forest.

"Having fun, Illya-nee?" said Mashiro, grinning inside her helmet. Good thing there was a side car, otherwise they'd never be able to hold onto tonight's dinner. She only ever put that on when she went grocery shopping though.

"You bet!" said Illya grinning. Sure the helmet was annoying, but it was worth it for the ride!

"Remember, you get to help me pick out what we're having for dinner!" said Mashiro laughing. This was exactly what they needed. A chance to be nothing more than a pair of girls out for an evening ride.

Illya chose a simple stew as dinner, which would be easy to cook and to eat.

However it was what they found when they returned that had the entire house in an uproar.

Caster had finally made her move. She had taken Rider and Saber and made off with the two Servants.

"What the hell happened?"

"The witch apparently wanted to make sure she had the upper hand when you came after her. Unfortunately she wasn't stupid enough to go after me," said Gilgamesh, irritated.

If she had, he would have ended her painfully.

"Which means we'll have to go after her sooner rather than later. We still have you, and I can snipe at Assassin from a distance while the others charge the gates. How did she take the Servants anyway?"

"She has a Noble Phantasm called Rule Breaker. It allows her to nullify magical contracts, which the Servant bond qualifies as," clarified Gilgamesh. He had a copy of it, but that was it.

"I'll make dinner and we can plan our assault on the temple after," said Mashiro firmly.

The two who lost their Servants were miserable, but agreed since fighting on an empty stomach would do them no favors.

"So let's review what we do have so we can plan," said Mashiro, once she had put enough stew into their bowls.

"I have my jewels, not much but they're about A-rank in attack. I also have my Finn Shot, which can do some damage," offered Rin.

"I have some skill at archery. I could help shoot at any monsters, if I had the right bow and arrows," offered Sakura. Matou family magecraft wasn't exactly good for spur-of-the-moment attacks like this.

"And I'm practically an Archer in all but form," said Mashiro. "Not to mention I haven't even dipped into my sword skills lately."

"EH? You can use a sword too, Onee-chan?" said Illya.

Mashiro and Sakura shivered.

"More like we had to learn in order to avoid being beaten half to death by the Tora shinai," said Mashiro. Whenever Taiga was angry or unreasonable, she'd whip out that sword of hers and beat the crap out of them in the name of training. Learning how to use a bokken was a necessity, though Mashiro preferred her bow and arrow because of the frequent nightmares about the girl committing seppuku.

Sakura nodded in fervent agreement. Taiga was scary...especially when hungry.

"I'm only fifth dan, but I mostly use it to keep Taiga from beating me every time she goes overboard," said Mashiro.

"I'm also a fifth dan," said Sakura.

"Good thing Saber didn't find that out, she might have challenged you," joked Mashiro.

"More like try to train me," agreed Sakura.

"And what about the chibi?" asked Rin.

Illya glared at Rin.

"I, unlike you two, can openly contribute to Mashiro-nee-san's plan! I at least had combat training!" said Illya.

It wasn't much, but she was taught offensive spells, if only to keep herself safe in the event her Servant was no longer available.

"Oh really? And what can a brat like you do?" asked Rin.

"Rin? There's a reason I call Illya my 'older' sister," said Mashiro.

"Why would you call her older? She's just a kid, right?"

"She's a year older than _I_ am, actually. She just LOOKS like a kid," said Mashiro.

"EH?!"

Illya looked rather smug at her reaction.

"In any case, we should divide ourselves into teams."

"I chose to be with Mashiro-nee-chan!" said Illya quickly.

"I got it. Sakura, you and Rin will team up together. Archer can go it alone, since he's strong enough without needing a partner. Meanwhile Illya can work with me."

"What? No way!" said Rin.

"Why not?"

"For starters why are you making up the pairings?!"

Mashiro's eyes glinted, as something seemed to settle over her.

"One, I'm the only one here who _still_ has a Servant. Two, it's the most reasonable since it pairs everyone with someone they won't stand around arguing with all night and still get their job done. And three, because otherwise you're never going to get Medusa back on your own," said Mashiro.

Only it didn't sound like Mashiro. It sounded more regal and authoritative. It was a voice Sakura had only ever heard once, when Mashiro was telling Shinji he was effectively _banned_ from the archery club until he learned proper manners around women.

"Rin, with your Finn shot and jewels, you're best at short to mid range combat. While Sakura has some experience with long and close combat. That means you can cover her while she shoots down any enemies coming at us. Gilgamesh is a class on his own, so he doesn't _need_ partners. And Illya, from what I can tell, has had close combat training to compliment my abilities as a sniper. And if worst came to worse, I can use a Command Spell to summon Gilgamesh straight to us. Just as you can use your Command Spells to summon an extra Servant, since Assassin was summoned by Caster," said Mashiro flatly.

"What."

"The current Assassin is some no-name samurai with a single noteworthy skill and a blade that's been made of human hands. It _barely_ rates a rank, if that. So the Seven of Seven rule has yet to be properly observed. I take out Assassin, and one of you can summon an real one if you lose yours for any reason," explained Mashiro.

Rin nodded. While this was hardly the ideal situation, considering what Caster had done it was more important to take her out now than to let her get any more strength.

Suddenly Mashiro's derisive snort when Rin claimed Berserker was the bigger threat made a lot more sense. Caster Servants NEEDED time to prepare their more devastating tricks. Time this one had ample supply of, and an entire city that they had been draining.

Something Mashiro had realized before Rin had, which made the girl question her ability as a Magus if she hadn't recognized the subtle threat and not the obvious one.


	7. Chapter 7

This was what the group considered their final attack of the Grail War. After learning of the taint to the Grail itself, none of them really wanted to bother killing the others to get it. And considering how strong Mashiro was as both Master and Magus, there was little chance they could challenge her in any case.

Right now this was more about avenging their pride and ending this war on a stalemate.

Mashiro had taken a spot well above the treeline about two miles away from the temple itself. Thanks to the spell Gilgamesh cast on her, she could see Assassin clearly, as well as a good chunk of the interior court yard of the temple.

Because Rin and Sakura didn't have Servants, they were going to take point on the highest point they could find that overlooked the court yard and let Sakura practice her aim.

Meanwhile Gilgamesh would storm the gate, since there was a barrier that kept Servants from going over the wall. Well, it was less of a barrier and more like a spell over the wall that effectively cut a Servant's power in half unless they went through the gate.

And Gilgamesh was not interested in having his power cut in half. If he wanted to have a good old fashioned ass kicking, he needed most of his power to do it.

"Everybody in position?" asked Mashiro through the head piece. It had taken Rin some time before she accepted Sakura would be the one to wear it, since she could barely operate the TV remote, let alone a radio.

Gilgamesh had one as well, though he had his turned off. If Mashiro needed him, she could use a Command Spell. And if he were hit by the same dagger as Saber and Rider, well, Caster would be dead the second he felt the bond between him and Mashiro broken.

He was not going to become the toy of some twisted Greek witch, and if she tried to use her 'Command Seals' on him he'd make her fight every step of the way.

Unless otherwise enforced (via Command Seals or otherwise), an Archer's Independent Action that came with the Class could be a right pain in the ass. And for someone like Gilgamesh, it would take more power, or likely Seals, to get him to do something he disagreed with.

Kotomine got over that restriction by only sending him on 'missions' that wouldn't bore him to death. He wasn't stupid enough to risk pissing off the King of Heroes.

It was just his bad luck that his 'story' never mentioned Gilgamesh had a crush on a princess who died. A princess Gilgamesh loved dearly enough that his entire personality shifted at the fact she was gone, only to revert back to the way he was before that time when her reincarnation came forward.

Gilgamesh's divinity rating had started to shoot up back to where it had been when he became Mashiro's Servant.

* * *

Gilgamesh walked up to the gate, and as before, Assassin was waiting.

"Unless you wish to challenge me, I suggest you leave," said Assassin. He didn't like being stuck as a mere gate guard.

Gilgamesh's red eyes narrowed at him.

"A mere nameless hero, lost to the annuls of history, wishes to challenge _me_?" he sneered right back.

"A Master cannot challenge a Servant," said Assassin with assurance.

"That would be true...if I were a Master."

Without warning, the gate behind Assassin exploded into pieces. He turned, and saw multiple arrows that radiated a pure energy in the rubble.

"Under the full moon, her power reigns supreme. And with the bow I gave her, along with her own personal arrows, any resistance you put up with worthless," said Gilgamesh flatly. He then had a cold smirk as he then added "Not that you had any chance in hell of beating me to begin with, even if you were a true Servant."

Assassin drew his blade, preparing to stop Gilgamesh...only he found himself suddenly full of a lot of holes and not enough prana to even sustain his physical form. His body vanished as his power became one with the Grail.

"Hmph. Not even a decent challenge to my power."

Gilgamesh suddenly stumbled as he was hit with something from behind. It wasn't one of Mashiro's arrows, but he could still hear the disbelieving snort of amusement from the girls.

Turning to see what it was, he had to blink.

Then he turned on his radio and had to ask... "Did you just shoot your ladle at me?"

" _Yes."_

"Why?"

" _I had the feeling you were being an ass again,"_ said Mashiro simply.

Somehow, he knew Saber would be laughing when she heard this story, if she survived this night.

Gilgamesh shook his head and walked through what remained of the gates.

There he found Saber waiting for him, and she didn't look one bit happy about the situation. At. All.

"Just so we're clear, if you were Rider you would be dead by now," said Gilgamesh, almost like he were commented on the weather.

"And if you were anyone else I would have attacked by now," she shot back crossly. She wasn't an idiot, and no matter what Caster ordered her to do, she knew fighting Gilgamesh with the sudden power-up he had gotten out of nowhere and the realization that Mashiro was playing sniper meant she had to be even more wary.

She had seen Mashiro shoot her bow. She didn't need another demonstration of how quickly the girl could land a hit without much warning otherwise.

So Saber did her best to throw off the Order Caster had placed on her to take on any Servants or Masters who dared get past the gate. Rider had so far managed to avoid having to deal with any of that by slipping into something she really wished she didn't have to.

She allowed her bloodlust and rage to kick in to the point she almost had a Mad Enhancement effect active, which made any demand Caster put on her hard to enforce without overpowering it.

And as much as Caster hated to admit it, the name Medusa was far more well known (and remembered) than Medea. In other words she had a bit more power to throw off the Witch of Betrayal's commands.

So for the moment, Rider was in hiding, ready to attack anyone stupid enough to try and locate her. She was having trouble distinguishing friend from foe.

At least Rin now knew to wait until they had a way to snap her out of it before trying to find her missing Servant.

With Saber resisting more than ever, Caster tried another tactic.

Skeletons, though they barely looked human.

Mashiro was now in a merry game of "Sniper on the Roof" as she suddenly had a lot of things to shoot at. Sakura was doing her best, but it was clear she didn't have nearly the same degree of accuracy, even if she made up for it by at least _hitting_ the target ninety percent of the time. It might not be fatal, but it was still a hit that stuck.

For the next ten minutes, as Gilgamesh laid waste to anything and everything that moved that wasn't Saber, who had wisely gotten out of his way, everything seemed to be fine.

Then, without much warning at all there was a yelp, and Gilgamesh felt the bond between him and Mashiro break. He didn't think she was dead, but the sudden flare of prana and the cloaked figure flying rather fast with two others said enough.

Caster had used Rule Breaker on Mashiro, breaking the Contract, and then proceeded to kidnap her, likely as a hostage. Illya was self-explanatory. Caster obvious planned to use _her_ to summon the Grail, whether she was alive or not.

All Gilgamesh knew was that if Caster _dared_ killed Mashiro he would level the place, Grail or not, and once the war was over he'd leave Fuyuki. He had no intention of sticking around twice.

* * *

Mashiro woke up and suddenly remembered exactly what happened.

She had been shooting at the weird skeletal things with a precision most Olympic archers would only dream of, when Caster showed up and used her dagger before either girl knew she was there.

Now here she was in some white dress, tied up in what looked like vines, and without a single weapon. If not for the fact Caster was quite clearly a woman, she would have been angry with righteous indignation.

Oh wait, Caster's Master was a man. Her History teacher, apparently.

Strike that, she was pissed.

Even the door on the bathroom at her house had a lock on it. Put there by Mashiro one weekend after she hit fifteen in order to get rid of the restless energy she suddenly had.

If whatever was supposed to happen after she turned fifteen was to happen, then she was determined it wouldn't occur while she was in the bathroom of all places, and even made very sure her window was locked whenever she took a bath.

If they wanted to catch her off guard, then it would be fully clothed.

Something that amused Taiga to no end, naturally. Even if she firmly approved of the policy, because if a male stayed over then at least the girls would have some protection from accidental wanderings.

It wasn't that Mashiro didn't _approve_ of any accidents that involved one person seeing another of the opposite sex in the nude, it was just she didn't want it to happen to HER until after she was married.

Back to being tied up though.

It took Mashiro a few moments to see in the cavern, but what she did see made her even angrier.

Not only did they have Illya tied up, but it was pretty damn clear from the way they had her pinned under an obvious runic circle that Caster had plans for her.

Likely to use her sister as the lesser grail, whether she was alive for it or not.

In the distance she could hear the others fighting their way down into the cavern, obviously having some difficulty getting past the traps Caster had set for them.

"We haven't got much time. I don't know who or what the golden man is, but he's ripping though my defenses like paper," said Caster.

"How much time do we need?" asked her teacher.

"More than we have at the rate they're going. If only that damn Rider hadn't gone berserk, we might have been able to set her on them!" said Caster in annoyance.

Because Gilgamesh had made it clear he barely tolerated Rider's presence, Caster was under no illusions what would happen if she tried to throw Rider at them.

She would be slaughtered, almost a quickly as Assassin had.

Caster finally noticed Mashiro was awake.

"I don't know if you are Artemis or not, and frankly it doesn't matter. Either way I just have to end the rest of the Servants to get what I want. And as for this girl...she won't live much longer anyway."

Mashiro snarled at her.

Illya didn't look too good, having all the power of the Servants that were killed in her. At the rate she was going, she wouldn't last until the end of the war.

Mashiro was bound and helpless, and to make matters worse she could _feel_ a presence in the air. And it didn't feel nice at all.

In fact it felt malevolent. Almost evil.

The story of a taint in the grail suddenly became a lot more believable. The weird thing was that in response to whatever infected the grail, she could feel a second power inside herself rising up in response.

Almost like it was waiting for something.

Caster was chanting something in Ancient Greek, and whatever it was definitely wasn't good if the way Illya looked was any indication. About the only consolation was that Caster hadn't figured out (despite the obvious signs) that Mashiro was really a Master and not the Goddess Artemis.

Hearing the explosions come closer, Mashiro weighed her options.

Magecraft was out, because she focused more on her bow and other hobbies outside of making special arrows, which were useless since she didn't have her weapon or her quiver. Her sword skills were equally tossed aside, as she only had the dress she was wearing on.

She debated on calling Gilgamesh to her, but that was more her ace in the hole for when things really got bad, and it sounded like they needed him at the moment to get down here.

In short, she needed a bit of time to figure out a strategy in order to deal with this. She hadn't counted on being _captured_ like this after all.

* * *

 _It_ was aware. Things were coming to a head, and soon _It_ would manifest once more. Things like good and evil didn't matter. All that mattered was that once more It would be born into the world anew, unless some fool noticed It's presence like last time.

That time had HURT. And It shouldn't be alive enough to even recognize what pain WAS anymore at this point.

It was strange though. It sensed the presence of an unusual energy, something that was counter to It's aura. Where It brought death and darkness, this brought Life and purity. This other presence might even have the ability to purge the taint in the Grail, if given the chance.

It was unsure whether or not this was something to allow, or fight off.

* * *

It happened right as the group made it past the last defense. Mashiro watched with horror as Caster finished whatever it was she was doing, and with absolutely no warning at all, plunged her hand deep into Illyasviel's chest, ripping out her heart.

Time seemed to stop all around Mashiro as she gazed almost without comprehension at the fact her sister Illya was dead. Or would be in seconds unless a miracle happened. She could see from where she was the light dimming in the albino girl's eyes, as the lack of her heart killed her.

She was already dead. Her body just had to catch up to the fact.

"NO! ILLYA!"

As tears fell freely from Mashiro's eyes, something seemed to pulse deep within, answering her all consuming desire to _save her sister_.

Her previous self, which had slumbered up to this point, woke up at full force. The power which had been waiting reached out, trying to find something to latch on to, to kick start the transition of mortal to Goddess.

It seemed to spread across the cavern, past the people waiting at the entrance, until it found something close enough to fit the requirement needed to start.

In short, this other power that all the Moon Queens (and Princesses) had waiting to awaken found the Heaven's Feel.

In the breath it took for Caster to all but murder Illya, and for Mashiro to realize she had lost her sister, something reacted. Without even knowing how or why, Mashiro said something that would lead well past the Grail Wars and into her true destiny.

 _Moon Crisis Power, Make Up!_

The power flared, and even without the compact that had been created to harness the full power of the Ginzuisho, the words had finally been spoken.

Mashiro's tears, which were still flowing, coalesced into a jewel Gilgamesh recognized immediately. Any doubts he had (not that he had any mind you) went away seeing that crystal form in response to Mashiro's desire to _do something_ that would save her sister and end this nightmare.

The dress Mashiro had on faded as armor took it's place, though it looked far more like the uniform Sailor V wore...just in different colors. For one thing, it was more white and the ribbons were much longer.

The jewel itself also shifted, as something seemed to form on the bow that Mashiro was wearing. It looked like some sort of odd moon with wings, the same as her Command Seals. Around it were eight other jewels of varying colors, each with a different symbol. They were all smaller than the crescent moon though.

On Mashiro's forehead was something that looked like a cross between a royal crown and a tiara like Sailor V had.

Super Sailor Moon had woken up and she was not happy.

"What the hell?!" shouted Rin. Seriously, what just happened? First they find Mashiro and Illya, and then Mashiro goes and does some sort of weird magical girl transformation! And what was with all the power in the air.

"Is that supposed to impress me or something?" said Caster dryly.

In any other circumstance, Mashiro, no, Super Sailor Moon, would have done some tacky little speech about love and justice. Right now, she was way too pissed off and confused to even consider it.

Instead she seemed to reach out for something as a staff appeared in her hands. She could feel the words well up inside her, ready to be spoken aloud.

" _Moon Healing Escalation!"_

The Ginzuisho understood what she wanted. It's Mistress was tired of this war and tired of the killing. She could care less about the Grail, or the potential wish she could gain from it.

So it did what it did best. It brought life where there was none.

All over Fuyuki people felt some sort of energy fill the air. But unlike ten years ago, this felt pure, almost gentle. Those near death or mortally ill with disease suddenly found themselves filled with life they thought they lost. Those that suffered from the 'gas attacks' suddenly woke up from their comas, their lives restored from Caster's vicious attack.

Wherever the energy touched, the taint that infected the Grail was driven away with brutal efficiency.

But the only thing Super Sailor Moon cared about was an albino girl with red eyes.

The second the power of the crystal touched Illyasviel, it healed both the damage Caster had done, and the very thing that would have cost the girl her life shortly after the war's end.

When this day was done, Illyasviel would have the most interesting and strange time having sudden growth spurts until she reached her _actual_ age. If off by a few years or so.

Even Sakura was touched by the light, as she felt all the pain and suffering she endured at the hands of Zouken healed over and her body restored in full.

The Masters weren't the only ones who felt the effects.

Saber, who had come out from where she was, felt her body change from Servant to living. Then she realized even her armor had changed, from the blue dress to something like a lily opened up. Excalibur seemed to radiate with the energy in the air, before it shifted to Caliburn, to her shock.

Rider, who had been in a pseudo Mad Enhancement, felt her mind clear up and her body become alive. She immediately went looking for Rin.

But the biggest shock of it all was the sudden appearance of a youth with odd tribal markings. He seemed to radiate malevolent energy without a thought, though under the light of that crystal it was suppressed.

Angra Mainyu was reborn...but at least now there was something that could actively counter his powers.

With the Grail purged of evil, and everyone healed (except for Caster and her Master, who were killed by a very irritated Gilgamesh) the transformation became undone.

The now-alive Gilgamesh immediately rushed to Mashiro's side. Aside from being drained of energy, she was still breathing. Considering this was the first time she had synced up with her true self, and the fact she was now on the road from 'human' to 'goddess' it was understandable she was exhausted.

And so the Holy Grail War came to a sudden end. Just not in the way any of them had expected.


	8. Chapter 8

Mashiro was dreaming. She knew _that_ much at least.

But it was the person in the dream that had her 'sit up' so to speak.

"Serenity-hime," said Mashiro.

Princess Serenity looked at her reincarnated self with some amusement. Mostly because Mashiro lived two years longer than she did and was taller than her.

" _Mashiro-hime,"_ she replied.

"Where are we? What happened?"

" _You awakened our power without the protection of the compact meant to channel it. As such, a new one had to be forged in a hurry. Coincidentally you skipped past a few stages and went straight to Super Sailor Moon. That puts you above both courts. At least as long as you use the 'new' compact made by your magecraft. Ironically this means you can use the Super mode without the 'Grail' made from the three Talismans."_

"Am I dead?"

" _No. This is merely the place between our shared mind. A way for us to talk using the Dream Cycle."_

"Why did you kill yourself?"

" _I didn't die from despair, contrary to what you might have believed. However I knew the chances of my escape were limited... and mother never approved of the man I actually loved for some reason."_

"Gilgamesh."

" _I remember Sailor Pluto loaning a mirror into the future to mother. She wanted to know which gate to leave relatively unguarded. And whatever she saw made her chose Endymion over Gilgamesh, despite the fact I was starting to love the golden king more than the Prince."_

Serenity looked sad.

" _I don't know what Crystal Tokyo was supposed to be, but the consequences of mother's decision destroyed our kingdom. I don't want destiny or fate to get in the way of actual love and happiness."_

Mashiro nodded in complete agreement.

" _I died because I knew the only way for me to survive was to be reborn. Even if I lived, the Moon Kingdom would never be the same as it was."_

The sky began to lighten as the sun began to 'rise' over the Earth.

Serenity looked at Mashiro with a serious expression.

" _When you wake, I want you to deliver a message to him. Tell him that I always loved him over Endymion, and I would have chose him if given a chance."_

Mashiro didn't need explanation as to who 'he' was. She nodded as the sun hit her dead on...and she woke up.

Somehow, she just knew this was going to be a headache inducing day.

* * *

"Okay. To sum up what happened... Illya is still alive, all the Servants except for him are now 'living' again in proper bodies and their powers almost completely restored, the Grail War is considered _over_ and Gilgamesh wasted Caster and her boyfriend. Have I got everything right?" said Mashiro after drinking a little 'fortified' tea.

"Everything except the sudden magical girl transformation and that weird energy," said Rin. She still wanted answers about that.

"What's there to explain? Mashiro finally woke up her dormant power and apparently had the Ginzuisho the entire time just waiting to come out. Not surprising considering her mother, but I am curious why you were clearly drawing power from that fake Holy Grail at the same time," said Gilgamesh.

"According to Serenity-hime, I skipped several power ups and went straight to super mode. Coincidentally I no longer _need_ the original Holy Grail to turn into this...Super Sailor Moon, though the compact to hold it had to be forged using magic in a hurry since I don't have the original."

Mashiro took another sip of her fortified tea, before she looked at Gilgamesh.

"She also had a message for you."

He sat up.

"She said she would have chosen you over Endymion if given a choice and that she didn't actually love him since she was already in love with you. Apparently her mother borrowed some mirror from Sailor Pluto so she tried to push Serenity on the Prince, despite the fact she tolerated him at best."

"That explains a lot," said Gilgamesh, not entirely happy, but glad to know Serenity wasn't in love with that idiot after all.

Rin immediately took her spoon and pointed it at Gilgamesh.

"You. Explain now. Or I will throw something heavy at you."

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes.

"You know those Sailor Senshi that have been running around the Jyuban district?"

"What of them?"

"They're all reincarnated warriors from the time _I_ was still alive and Mashiro is their leader. When she woke up her dormant powers she kick started a long process from 'mortal' to 'goddess', which will only be completed once she has a replacement to take her spot as 'Princess' to lead a new group of senshi. Because of a love triangle gone wrong, they were all sent to this time to be reborn and start the whole process over from scratch," said Gilgamesh.

"And why are you being so reasonable when I clearly remember you being a total jerk before?"

"Apparently he was so depressed and angry over losing the girl he loved that he took it out on everyone, and when he lost Enkidu it only got worse. It's kind of hard to trust people when you're not entirely human to begin with, and overpowered to boot," said Mashiro.

"Okay, then what the hell was that light? And why are almost all the Servants now _alive_ again?" said Rin.

"Blame the Ginzuisho. If Angra Mainyu here represents All the World's Evils, then the Ginzuisho represents Life itself. Naturally since it was only a fragment stuck in the Grail, the Ginzuisho overpowered it. Though I have no idea _why_ he's now attached to Mashiro like a Servant," said Gilgamesh.

"Because I _am_ one. The von Einzberns summoned me as an extra, but I was killed off almost immediately and stuck in the Grail. My power just happened to infect it, which is why Anti-Heroes were able to be summoned during the last war," said Angra Mainyu.

"Oh. _Oh_ ," said Illya in realization.

"What?"

"There was a recorded attempt to get an extra Servant in the Third Grail War. They summoned _a_ Servant, but Avenger was killed too quickly to be of any actual use, so they hadn't bothered with it again. I didn't know they had summoned _Angra Mainyu_... I wonder if Grandfather knows how badly they bungled things up?" said Illyasviel. It certainly explained quite a bit. Then her mind caught up to her. "Wait, does this mean Mashiro-nee has the Third magic?"

"It's either she acquired the Heaven's Feel by accident, or she's tapping into the Kaleidoscope. Either way, she's well above the inner Senshi court power wise, even before she taps into the Ginzuisho," said Gilgamesh flatly.

"And what is this Ginzuisho thing?" asked Rin. It looked like a jewel.

"A Noble Phantasm tied to the Royal Family, and yes, it's a jewel but if you tried to use it you'd be killed without a chance to realize what an idiot you were trying to touch it," said Gilgamesh without hesitation.

As far as he knew, _no one_ outside the Royal Family could use the thing. Not that anyone tried, since it was considered the Crown jewel of the royal family and the last and only attempt to steal the thing had resulted in a punishment so graphic and horrifying (for the time period anyway) that no one dared try it a second time. They even had the story of what happened to the would-be thief as something they told their children as a warning!

Rin looked put out.

"In any case," Mashiro said, changing the subject with single-minded intent, "What are we supposed to do now? We destroyed that bounded field around the school, but now we have to search for a new one to attend. And how are we supposed to explain the extra people here?"

"About that..." said Sakura.

Mashiro turned to her.

"Whatever that energy was it sent a surge of healing power all through the city. People who were gravely ill or near dead suddenly found themselves healed, and those hit by Caster were revived, if they were still alive. I'm fairly certain we could slip a few extra people into the city records considering there's already a lot of chaos happening."

"Well I'm certainly not going back to that castle. For one thing it's cold and boring living there!" said Illya firmly.

Her sister had a spontaneous magical girl transformation and gained one of the remaining true magics in order to save her life. No way was she giving up that sort of selfless devotion to family to return to the cold, uncaring clan she had come from!

In the end, the entire situation seemed to resolve itself. Well, as much as it could resolve considering Mashiro had to use the connections of the Fujimura group to add four new people in to the city registers.

And thanks to Gilgamesh's Golden Rule, feeding the small army wasn't as big an issue as it could have been, considering Saber (now Arturia Emiya) and Rider (Medusa Tohsaka) could practically eat half a year's worth of food for a small village in a week. And that wasn't taking into account Taiga's appetite.

She was just surprised that Angra Mainyu (who preferred to be called Ven for short) didn't mind acting like a butler. Frankly with all the weirdness in her life, this didn't even make the top ten.

At least she didn't have to do the dishes anymore.

* * *

"Okay, so you three chose that fancy school Infinity Academy in the Jyuban district, right?" said Rin.

"They said we could go on as probationary students, unless we find a school more suited to us. But we still have to keep our grades up," said Mashiro.

And the only reason they agreed to a 'probationary' trial was because of Mashiro's grades and the fact she had Olympic-level skills with a bow. And they were letting Sakura and Illya join because they were _family_ , though the still had to study their asses off and keep the grades up.

As for Gilgamesh, his job was to keep the money coming so they could study without needed a part time job...or in the case of the women, maintain their monthly "Spa Day" that had been started by Taiga and Mashiro years ago, in order to combat the fact Mashiro lacked a proper mother figure growing up.

It was tradition now.

Rin chose a small Catholic girl's school primarily because she wanted nothing to do with Mashiro. The girl gave her headaches.

Besides, Rin followed that particular dogma, the fake priest notwithstanding. Just because he had been a jerk didn't mean she couldn't go to church in Japan.

Coincidentally Rider planned to get a job at a library, or spend her time reading. Saber planned to try her luck teaching swordsmanship.

But there was one thing everyone agreed on. They all needed a vacation, if only so they could have a bit of fun before real life asserted itself again.

And, by dint of a rather massiveargument _where_ they would go, Mashiro finally settled on a country none of them had gone to, but three of the seven might want to see.

Greece.

Rider wanted to visit the island she lived on, and Illya wanted to see if she could find anything that could re-summon Herakles without having to go through her 'family' again. As for Mashiro, she was an Otaku through and through, so she heard the story about how Sailor V accidentally got on the wrong plane and ended up in Greece instead of Hawaii.

Everyone else either didn't care, or weren't interested. They were just glad that it had been settled, even if it was only for a week.

* * *

Rin and Illya got along like Gilgamesh and snakes.

It wasn't that they got on each other's nerves, per-say, but more along the lines of Rin was a Tsundere through and through, and Illyasviel delighted in pissing her off.

Great fun to watch though. Not to mention it gave Rin plenty of practice for when she finally managed to snag the apprenticeship with Zelretch, who had offered a spot to Mashiro since apparently it _wasn't_ Heaven's Feel she was drawing from, but the Kaleidoscope.

While she was slightly different from most of her alternates (namely in that she didn't need to rely on the inner Senshi wearing down the monster of the week and could actually _fight_ without looking like an idiot) she was still 'Sailor Moon'.

The differences between "Mashiro" and her base "self", who's name was apparently Usagi Tsukino were minor but they did add up.

Mashiro Emiya had two sisters (and Saber was the cranky Aunt), and a goofy Guardian. Her father trained her to actually _use_ her power constructively rather than as a final option, and she didn't shy away from school work or getting her hands dirty. Mashiro was very much an independent girl who had plenty of options when it came to careers if the magical girl thing didn't work out.

Usagi Tsukino was a slacker, game addict and hated studying. She was the epitome of 'dumb blond' and it was a miracle she survived her fights at all. Then again, that was what the inner Senshi were _for_. Wearing down the monsters so the girl could finish them off. She had a mother, father and younger brother, all of which had no idea of her original self or the fact she was a literal magical girl. She also hated doing chores or getting dirty, and often wasted her money on useless things like the arcade.

In short, Mashiro Emiya and Usagi Tsukino were _nothing_ alike. And the irony was that they were originally one and the same, with the same base powers.

All in all, Gilgamesh was absolutely _thrilled_ when he found out he had the sensible, if slightly bloodthirsty and overprotective Mashiro when Zelretch just happened to show him what she could have been like.

Even Serenity hadn't been _that_ vapid or ditzy. And dear lord, those stupid speeches every time she confronted the monster or general! She was a walking stereotype for those stupid cutesie magical girl shows for small children!

Coincidentally when Zelretch found out about how easily Rin got riled up by the German girl...who was growing practically overnight in an effort to catch up to her actual age...he insisted on sticking around if only to watch the show...and irritate the living hell out of Rin.

Mashiro could not _wait_ for their passports to clear so they could go on vacation.


	9. Chapter 9

Greece was...interesting. It wasn't really filled with young people, at least not teenagers like them.

Gilgamesh and Rider had the rather unique position of acting as 'chaperones' for the group, though Gilgamesh had to room with Ven since they were the only guys.

By the time they reached Greece, the two were quite glad to be out of the estrogen haze created by Mashiro, Sakura, Saber, Illya, Rider, and Rin. The girls would be sharing two rooms, each with two beds.

Mashiro, Illya and Saber would take one room, while Rider, Rin and Sakura would take the other. Coincidentally because there was only two beds per room, someone would inevitably have to double up.

Those people would be Illya and Mashiro, Rider and Sakura. Apparently Rin was still working up to the idea of sharing her bed with another girl, whereas Sakura was already well used to it.

However it was when they rented a boat to the nameless isle that they got a real shock.

Medusa's sisters Stheno and Euryale were apparently still alive. And equally as surprised to see her again, and sane no less. Of course this brought up the minor dilemma of getting them back to Japan...and teaching them the language. Fortunately Medusa was willing to take on that headache.

On the plus side, Mashiro did pick up several cook books with Greek food in them to show off to Taiga, since she was stuck in Fuyuki because of the mess she made of the school.

Thanks to the generous 'anonymous' donation, the school would reopen.

Just not before Mashiro or Sakura graduated.

* * *

"Good thing they allow us to live off campus. I keep getting headaches just thinking about the classrooms," said Mashiro.

Rin and her trio of Greek monsters had already moved into a small apartment in Jyuban, while Gilgamesh, Ven, Mashiro, Illya, Sakura and Saber were living in a small _house_. It was the only option considering there was no way they could fit four girls and two boys in a single apartment, and really, a house offered more freedom when it came to bounded fields.

While it was a three bed room, two bath house, living together became much easier because Mashiro, Sakura and Illyasviel didn't mind sleeping in the same room. And the third room (which was technically Saber's room) had a trundle bed that they could pull out if one of them wanted to sleep relatively alone.

Mashiro made it a point to get a pull out couch in case of guests. And she converted the attic into an extra bed room with the closet acting as storage space.

Let it never be said Mashiro didn't come prepared.

"It's not that bad is it?" asked Illya.

"You'll understand soon enough, at least once your body catches up," said Sakura.

They had already explained about puberty and how her body would react to aging again. They didn't need to explain how babies were made, because Illya was a bit of a pervert...and thus already well versed in that particular subject. Perhaps a little too versed considering she was only now starting to hit her teens, and was about 15 at the moment.

Since she used to be stuck at _nine_ , Mashiro had high hopes the weird growth spurts might calm down once she hit late teens and that she would age normally after. For now, she would be doing home school until she looked around Mashiro's age, since she insisted on joining her sister in school.

"So, since the grocery shopping has been dealt with, the house is more or less set up, and the applications have gone through, I suppose the only thing left to do is to explore the neighborhood," said Mashiro.

Grocery shopping had become ridiculous for the family...which was why Mashiro finally surrendered to buying in bulk and just arranged for the store to deliver the food rather than try to haul it home. Ven had become the 'butler/cousin' of the group, so he would make sure the food was put away in the right places. Now Mashiro only had to buy for special occasions.

Thank the Moon for Gilgamesh and his 'Golden Rule'. Otherwise none of this would be possible.

"I want to hit the arcade!" said Illya eagerly. She had become a bit of a video game addict, and Mashiro was rather indulgent to her sister.

"I've been meaning to explore the stores here," said Sakura.

"I'm going exploring," said Gilgamesh flatly.

"Let's split into groups then. Saber and Sakura will go shopping...and scout out the spas and other affiliated stores for our monthly day off. Illya and I will hit the arcade and check the place out. We'll come home and order out, then we'll go over our books and then bed," said Mashiro.

"Sounds like a plan. Everyone have their phone?"

Shortly after moving Jyuban, Mashiro had been stuck buying phones for everyone. Mostly because they came with GPS, so they could always find their way back, at least until they were more familiar with the city itself.

Rin refused, saying she'd rather go roof-hopping than rely on technology. Thought it might have something to do with the fact that the last time she tried to operate anything more complicated than the DVD player, it had blown up on her.

Mashiro had been laughing the entire time she had to put out the blaze using the fire extinguisher that Kiritsugu had been forced to buy after one too many attempts at teaching Taiga how to cook. Mashiro had kept it because it wasn't empty...though Rin did get doused with how quickly the blond had whipped the thing in her direction and sprayed.

If Mashiro was laughing at the situation, then Illya had been cackling at the fact Rin hadn't gotten out of the way in time to avoid being doused in flame retardant foam.

On the plus side, she now had a brand new fire extinguisher in the kitchen and in the bedroom she shared with the other girls. One for kitchen emergencies and the other in case the house ever caught fire.

* * *

Shirou Tsukino was somewhat your average boy. Except he had a secret.

His pet cat could talk.

When Shirou was seven, he was caught in a massive fire in Fuyuki city, and saved by the woman who would become his new mother. Her name was Ikuko Tsukino.

Ikuko had lost her daughter in the fire, Usagi, and when she learned the doctors were scrambling to find room for yet another orphan from the fire, she filed for adoption. It didn't make up for losing her daughter and first born child, but in time it helped.

Shirou made a point to 'talk' to his older sister Usagi every morning, which was the last photo of her before the fire.

So imagine his shock when he ran into a girl who could have been Usagi grown up, with a braided hair style, showing an albino girl with red eyes how to operate the _Sailor V_ game that appeared one morning at the arcade.

The seventeen year old was enthusiastically challenging her 'sister' to the game, and against all odds was actually good at it. Which was shocking because Shirou knew for a fact those machines were actually 'training simulators' for the Senshi. Though only Ami could get a decent score on the things.

The blond managed to get to a level Shirou had thought only Ami could reach, and then to his amazement something fell out of the bottom.

It looked like one of the transformation sticks the senshi had.

The albino girl pouted at her sister.

"That is so not fair! Why did you win a prize and not me?"

"Because I rock," said the blond.

"Mashiro-nee, I challenge you to another game!" said the girl.

"You're on Illya-chan," said the girl.

Unseen by the girls, Shirou took out his cell and snapped a picture of the blond.

The resemblance was uncanny!

When he got home he compared a blown up picture of 'Mashiro' with one of his photos of his adopted sister Usagi.

He would have to have Ami 'age' Usagi's face with one of her computer programs, but Shirou would swear that this Mashiro girl was a dead ringer for his dead sister.

It was nice being part of the small conspiracy of people who knew who the Senshi were, even if his 'job' whenever a monster appeared was to evacuate any and all civilians, or have those that stuck around (namely the press) sign a statement saying they acknowledged the risks they were taking just for the chance to photograph the Senshi in action.

Shirou had a 'saving people thing', and surprisingly it had been the ditzy Minako who helped him draft the short, but simple agreement that the Senshi were in no way responsible for injuries occurred during a fight.

It actually made dealing with the cops a lot easier, since the Senshi were at least trying to file the appropriate paperwork for helping people, and took precautions to get non-combatants out of the way.

Even if avoiding some of the more tenacious reporters was getting very irritating, since they figured out Shirou was the only person who knew who the Senshi were in public.

He was honestly this close to organizing a full day of having them sign autographs and answering questions, if only to shut the reporters up once and for all.

His 'pet' cat Luna refused on the grounds that it might draw even MORE youma to the girls...and because they still hadn't found the Princess. Shirou sometimes wondered what would have happened if he hadn't rescued the cat from the bratty kids of his neighborhood...and Tuxedo Kamen had an apartment that actually ALLOWED pets.

Mamoru was nice, but some days Shirou just wanted to punch him in the face. Not to mention his 'costume' was beyond tacky and not really combat practical.

* * *

Gilgamesh took one look at the 'prizes' from the _Sailor V_ game and snorted.

"Prizes my ass. That's the compact meant to contain the Ginzuisho, and that's a transformation pen if I've ever seen one," he said flatly.

"I always thought that game was fishy. I never could get past level fifty on _Sailor V_ , yet whenever I played similar RPGs I was always able to beat them within days," said Mashiro.

"Not surprising, considering it's actually a training simulator from the Moon Kingdom," snorted Gilgamesh.

"So how does this thing work anyway?" said Mashiro, poking the little compact curiously.

"You're asking me?" said Gilgamesh.

"Good point. Well, we've had our excitement for the day, so who's up for going to sleep early?" asked Mashiro.

"I am," yawned Sakura. Saber nodded in absolute agreement.

They could handle whatever tomorrow threw at them tomorrow.

* * *

Mashiro's blunt opinion finally watching Sailor V in action (Gilgamesh was right, her name _was_ Sailor Venus) was...

"Dear lord, they're the epitome of cheap magical girls. I mean I could live with the mini skirts and the sailor fuku, but really? Their aim sucks, they can _barely_ defeat the monster and they don't even try to deal with the control before they escape. The only one of their group that's even respectable is the red head getting the civilians out!" she said, shaking her head in dismay.

"The standards of the Senshi really have dropped...then again, what can you expect of girls thrown into the deep end without even bothering to train them first," agreed Gilgamesh, watching on the roof with her.

"They're an insult to magical girls," said Illya flatly.

"...Do you think they might improve if we were to play 'sniper on the roof' with my special arrows?" said Mashiro.

Gilgamesh snorted.

"You're going to play the 'mysterious' Artemis again aren't you?"

"If it means tricking them into improving their skills, if only not to be outdone by some random archer, absolutely. At least on weekends anyway."

"Sounds more fun than having to watch them fail at being real magical girls," said Illya.

* * *

Their first day at Infinity Academy, and by the end of it Mashiro's brain felt like mush. If it wasn't the overly complicated classes, the beyond _rude_ students, or the confusing classroom layout, it was the weird headache she practically had from the second she stepped into her class.

She was honestly wishing she had chosen a different school with how blatantly rude the students were, and the teachers weren't much better.

At least the Captain of the archery club here had shut up about her skills the second she shot every single bulls eye blindfolded and without a second's hesitation.

It was hard to insult someone who never missed and could shoot an arrow with accuracy most sharp shooters couldn't hope to match, even with a proper scope.

Even so, Mashiro was rather eager to go home and take a much needed nap.

Unfortunately since none of the students had provided a decent tour of the place, she found herself quite lost.

Then her ears perked up at the sound of a violin played by someone who actually KNEW what they were doing. It sounded very familiar in fact.

Hoping to find someone who could at least give her a direction to go in so she could leave, Mashiro found herself drown to the sound.

The door was slightly ajar, and when she cracked it open a bit further, her jaw dropped.

Michiru Kaioh, the violinist that Mashiro absolutely _adored_ , was in the same uniform Mashiro herself was wearing and playing. Beside her was Haruka Tenoh, her favorite racer, listening peacefully in the male uniform.

Haruka was her favorite because she could out-race the guys, and she was still very much a girl despite her obvious preference to male clothing.

When the song ended, Michiru casually said "You might as well come in, whoever you are."

Abashed at being busted, Mashiro opened the door properly to the surprise of Tenoh.

She blinked at the blond, before asking "You're one of those Fuyuki transfers aren't you? Did you get lost?"

"Yeah. My name is Emiya Mashiro. I was supposed to meet my sister Illya and my best friend Sakura outside after school, but no one bothered to give me a tour."

Haruka rolled her eyes. She was familiar with the 'cold' attitude the students at the school had.

"My name is Tenoh Haruka, and this is..."

"Kaioh Michiru! I love your music," said Mashiro. Then she grinned at Haruka, who blinked a bit as the blond then said "I also love the fact that you show the boys they aren't the only ones who can race, Tenoh-san."

Haruka grinned.

"You recognized us? Both of us?" she said.

"I'm a bit of a mechanic, and I love riding my motorcycle on my days off. Naturally when I found out there was a girl racer I became a fan after the first few interviews I watched," admitted Mashiro.

Haruka was definitely pleased by that. Finally, someone who could appreciate a finely-tuned racing machine. Michiru was also happy that even though Mashiro was a fan, she was a _polite_ one. It was a nice change of pace compared to those that insisted on an autograph.

Michiru and Haruka gave Mashiro a minor tour of the school as they showed her how to get out. In between explaining where things were, Haruka and Mashiro cheerfully chatted about their respective rides.

Mashiro was practically bowled over by the missile that was a sixteen-year-old Illyasviel.

"Nee-chan! You have no idea how worried we were when you didn't come out like you promised!"

"I got lost. No one bothered to show me where everything was. Thankfully Kaioh-san and Tenoh-san were kind enough to show me where the exit was," admitted Mashiro sheepishly.

Illya frowned in irritation. She had also noted the cold attitude and it annoyed her greatly. If they didn't become more respectful Illya might have to do something...drastic. Like prank her entire class.

Once she got over her headache anyway.

Illya curtsied to the amused duo, and said "Thank you for taking pity on my sister. She might be a ditz sometimes but she means well."

"Oi. I'm right here you know," said Mashiro.

Haruka looked very much like she wanted to laugh.

"It was no trouble at all," she said, with amusement clear in her voice.

"We can continue our discussion tomorrow, if you like Tenoh-san," said Mashiro.

"That sounds like fun, Emiya-san," said Haruka. Honestly, Mashiro and her group were a breath of fresh air in this stupid school.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Okay, since someone complained that their relationship isn't moving fast enough...they just found each other and they're living with a bunch of other people. Mashiro's going to be busy for a while and if you recall, she didn't exact do a lot with Mamoru in the manga at first either.**_

* * *

After that meeting in the music room, Haruka and Michiru found themselves drawn into Mashiro's circle of friends. Her bubbly personality and sensible outlook seemed to bring even the most unlikely of people into her group of friends. This even included the headmaster's daughter Hotaru, who had been brought into the circle by Sakura after she saw a group of students bullying her off campus grounds.

Hotaru didn't seem to mind much. Apparently no one wanted to get close to her for some reason.

Discreet inquiries mentioned both odd and violent black outs, followed by Hotaru healing the injuries _she_ had caused. The weird thing was Hotaru had absolutely no memory whenever she had these episodes, so she was baffled as to why her classmates hated and feared her.

Sakura was almost certain Hotaru was a Magus, though one that hadn't been trained. It would certainly explain how she could heal minor injuries.

The older girls actually seemed to enjoy being around Mashiro, which was strange because most people seemed to think Haruka and Michiru were more or less loners. The only company they seemed to enjoy for any period of time was each other, and everyone knew they were lovers.

Considering Mashiro, Illya and Sakura all shared the same bed, they weren't going to judge Haruka and Michiru's life style. That would just be hypocritical of them.

Even so, it was a bit of an odd group.

"So let me get this straight. Once a month you have a Girl's Night Out where you get yourselves pampered and then go on a minor shopping spree?" said Haruka.

"My guardian Fuji-nee, started it after she realized my dad had no idea how to raise a girl without turning me into an absolute tomboy. So in exchange for feeding her practically every day she'd take me out once a month so I would learn how to be a girl. When I met Sakura I dragged her into it, and when Illya finally caught up with me after her mother's family allowed her to leave Germany, I brought them into it as well. We always set a limit for those days, so it stays within our monthly budget," said Mashiro.

"What do you mean 'allowed her to leave Germany'?" asked Michiru, sipping her tea.

"My grandfather is super strict, so he refused to let me leave the family castle until I was old enough. The first thing I did was track my adopted sister down, since Father did something to anger grandfather, so I wasn't able to see him or meet my sister until that point. There was a bit of a minor misunderstanding when we finally did meet, but it's cleared up now," said Illyasviel.

Sakura barely avoided snorting. Only Illya could classify trying to send Berserker after her adopted sibling as a 'minor misunderstanding'.

"A spa day does sound nice. We rarely go out for some pampering," said Haruka. Michiru nodded.

"Why don't you come with us? It's always more fun with more people!" said Mashiro enthusiastically. She looked at an amused Hotaru "You can come too, if you want."

Hotaru perked up. She never got to do anything with others, and Mashiro treated her better than that creepy assistant her dad had.

Illya snickered.

"You know your boyfriend is just going to complain about the level of estrogen going up when he finds out."

"Considering I don't complain about him and Ven watching those videos in their room, he has no room to talk," deadpanned Mashiro. She knew Gilgamesh was a perv, but at least he had the decency to keep it in their room.

Even if Illya kept sneaking in to watch movies with them.

"Oh-ho, does Mashiro-chan have a boyfriend?" said Haruka, teasing.

Mashiro pulled out her phone and flipped through the pictures to find one with her and Gilgamesh.

"His name is Gil, and he's about two years older than me," she said, handing the phone over.

"He's pretty cute. Red eyes are a bit intense, but I can see why you like him," said Haruka. Just because she was a lesbian didn't mean she couldn't tell if a boy was cute or not, and this Gil was pretty damn hot for a guy.

"He can be a bit of a jerk, but I can usually reign him in when he gets out of line," said Mashiro, accepting her phone back.

"If by 'reign him in' you mean hit him over the head with that ladle of yours..." Illya said smirking.

Haruka blinked.

"You actually hit people with a ladle?" said Hotaru, amazed.

"She's overprotective of her kitchen, considering that's the ONLY domestic skill she's good at. She can't grow anything or sew, but her cooking is top notch," said Sakura grinning.

"Hey!"

Mashiro pouted, before she changed the subject.

"So what's your opinion of these Sailor Senshi?"

Haruka made a face.

"Maybe if they trained their powers more, they'd be less of a joke."

Mashiro nodded in complete agreement.

"From the way they fight, I think they mostly just throw the only spell they have at the things and hope it actually sticks. I mean the only one who even remotely LOOKS competent is Sailor Venus, and that's likely because she has more experience."

Haruka nodded in absolute agreement.

"Out of the bunch of them, the only one that isn't mercilessly mocked every time they're mentioned is that red haired boy who usually shows up within five minutes of the battle to evacuate everyone else. Even that weirdo Tuxedo Kamen is laughed at, because who seriously runs around in a tuxedo and top hat, just to throw _roses_ at monsters?" said Haruka.

"Seriously?" said Mashiro. She hadn't seen that part.

"He's mostly a distraction, and while the flowers are pretty enough it's just plain embarrassing to watch," said Michiru.

"You would think that anyone who bothers to wear something like that would be able to actually _contribute_ to the fight, rather than make an idiot out of himself. I mean even Gilcould do more than just throw flowers at people," said Mashiro.

Gilgamesh could probably _end_ a monster with a single sword. He was infinitely more useful in a fight than whoever was running around with the Senshi.

Then Mashiro got a mischievous idea.

"Hey, would you like to watch something funny?"

"Funny how?"

"Oh dear. You're not seriously going to ask them if they want to watch you play 'sniper on the roof' are you?" said Sakura.

"'Sniper on the roof'?" said Haruka blankly. Michiru and Hotaru looked equally baffled.

"Basically she plans to take her bow and special quiver of arrows, wait for whoever is controlling the monster to bring out the usual sacrifice, and then one-up the Senshi," explained Illya.

"Okay, that I would have to see," said Haruka eagerly. The senshi were an embarrassment to their gender. Seeing _anyone_ one-up them was sure to be fun.

"And best of all I'll be disguised so they can't bother me later!" cackled Mashiro evilly.

Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru were on a nearby roof with Sakura and Illya, all armed with binoculars to watch the fun. Mashiro was back in her "Archer Artemis" disguise from the war, mask and all. In her hands was her special bow and she had a quiver of arrows strung against her back.

She waited patiently for the 'Dark General' to bring out the weekly sacrif...er, disposable monster...before she notched an arrow.

Before the blond haired general could realize what was happening, he yelled in actual _pain_ from an arrow in his leg.

Everyone on the ground stopped, stared at the arrow without much comprehension, then tried to find where the shooter had aimed from. Even the general looked around in anger and disbelief that someone had actually _dared_ to shoot at him rather than the monster.

"Holy cow. How the heck did she hit him from so far?" said Haruka impressed.

"Mashiro only misses when she _wants_ to miss. There was a reason why the archery club in Fuyuki made her captain the SECOND she got into high school," said Sakura.

"If Mashiro-nee wanted, she could have killed him without him before he even realized she was _there_ ," said Illya proudly.

"So what's her plan now?" asked Michiru.

"Like she said before, she plans to one-up the Senshi. She can't really do that if they don't see her," said Illya.

Watching Mashiro casually perform a bit of roof-hopping until one of the Senshi _finally_ noticed her, Mashiro then showed off yet another display of her skill using a bow.

One shot, and the weekly sacrifice was destroyed with a single arrow, which dissolved as the holy energy it contained destroyed whatever random bits and pieces created the beast.

The general looked pissed.

"And who are you supposed to be? Another one of these pathetic Sailor Senshi?" he snarled, trying to staunch the blood flow from his leg.

Mashiro scoffed.

"Please don't compare me to _children_ who don't even bother to train their powers, let alone learn how to AIM."

Seeing the Senshi bristle at the blatant reminder of how people actually thought of them, Mashiro smirked.

"You may call me Archer. Or Artemis, if you like," she said with an evil smirk.

"Well Archer, you'll pay for injuring me!"

"Pay how? You can barely beat a bunch of school girls in pretty outfits!" Mashiro shot back with an innocent smile on her face. The general snarled, before vanishing.

Before the Senshi had a chance to talk (read: interrogate) the new face, Mashiro had already gone.

Haruka was still giggling at the gobsmacked look on the face of the Senshi, and the way that the weirdo in the evening ware had looked distinctly put out because his 'grand entrance' had been denied because someone COMPETENT actually showed up to fight.

And her amusement only grew hearing everyone talk about the "Mystery Archer Girl".

"You were right, that was totally hilarious! Did you see the look on the general's face realizing someone who actually knew what they were doing had shot at him?" said Haruka, giggling.

Mashiro beamed at her.

"The Senshi are amateurs," she said smugly.

Haruka nodded with amusement, before she asked "So when were you guys planning this girl's night out?"

"Next week."

"Well count us in. I can't even remember the last time we did something like had our nails done or went to a salon," said Michiru.

It was something so girly that her lover Haruka normally didn't bother outside of the odd times when she wore lipstick. Most days she only wore her earrings, and that was it.

Gilgamesh, true to Illya's prediction, made a face when he found out three more had joined the group, though they were tolerable.

Once they were out of Infinity Academy grounds, Mashiro did something she had wanted to do for days now in the safety of her home.

She hugged Hotaru.

"Too cute! Illya, you are to get Hotaru addicted to cosplay, because I can see her in so many cute costumes!"

"Hai, Nee-chan!" said Illya with a salute. Next to Mashiro, Illya was the only one who had developed a proper Cosplay addiction.

Sakura had her flower arranging and tea ceremonies, Rin had her martial arts, and Mashiro and Illya shared the Otaku life.

Hotaru cocked her head.

"What's cosplay?"

"I can see what we'll be spending our money on once we're done at the spa," snickered Mashiro. Illya nodded in absolute agreement.

Hotaru just looked confused.

"Mashiro and Illya have this little switch in the heads that goes off whenever they see someone adorable they're allowed to hug and possibly convert to cosplay."

"Rin called it a 'maid switch', because the easiest way to convert someone is to take them to a maid cafe," said Illya.

Actually Zelretch introduced Illya to her alternate, who used the Kaleidoscope and still had both parents.

Needless to say Illya took notes from her alternate on how to 'corrupt' new victims. And blackmail photos of Rin using Kaleidostick Ruby.

Gilgamesh looked at his girl friend with a pleading expression.

"It's not that I care about the new additions, but could you _please_ add a guy next time? I'm sick of you being able to gang up on me, and I only have Ven to take my side!"

Mashiro giggled evilly.

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

Unknown to them all, Gilgamesh's wish for an extra 'guy friend' would come true...and bring a headache none of them were expecting to have.

"EH? You think you found your dead sister, alive?" said Rei in shock.

"I had Ami 'age' the last known photo of Usagi before the fire. They're almost identical except for the hair style. Even the bangs match up!" said Shirou.

He hadn't said anything to his parents, because he didn't think his mother could handle such a huge shock only to find out he was wrong. He'd rather had a few facts confirmed first.

Like whether or not she had been in the Fuyuki fire.

"Wow. Have you told your parents?"

"No way. I'm not getting mom's hopes up until I'm reasonably sure it might be her. Besides, from the looks of it she might have been adopted by another family."

"We'll keep an eye out for her. You do have the picture right?" said Minako.

Shirou sent them all the picture he took.

"Who's the white haired girl?" asked Artemis from Minako's lap.

"I have no idea, but she called her 'sister' while I was taking the photo."

With that, the girls went onto their newest topic of discussion. The mystery Archer who called herself "Artemis", much to the annoyance of one white cat.

"I still think this girl might be a Senshi. I mean Shirou did say that the game dropped a compact and a pen similar to the one Minako uses to turn into others," said Makoto.

To date, the only people who won _anything_ off that particular game were Senshi. Though Shirou did get a rather interesting sword from Artemis when he expressed a desire to at least learn how to defend himself and the civilians from the youma.

So far he had gotten up to a third dan since receiving the sword, but he was still a work in progress.

They couldn't wait to finally locate the princess and hopefully deal with Beryl once and for all so they could get a break from the monster hunting.

"I still can't believe the girl left before any of you could ask anything," said Luna in a huff. A senshi should at _least_ stay and introduce themselves.

"Well at least we know she's a good shot. She hit Jadeite from that roof before any of us knew she was there, and then destroyed the youma before it did any damage," offered Artemis.

"The weird thing was she wasn't in the same fuku as us. In fact she was wearing some sort of Greek dress with a pair of ordinary bike shorts under it," said Minako.

"Wait, what?" said Luna in shock. _None_ of the senshi could destroy a youma without first transforming, even back when they were living on the Moon Kingdom!

"Now that you mention it, she had a weird bow and some arrows with what looked like runes carved into them, at least the one I saw anyway," said Rei.

Ami, who generally had her computer up and running to catch any weaknesses they might need to exploit, brought up the mystery archer. It wasn't a good picture, but it was better than nothing.

"I don't believe it. She was using that to take out youma?" said Luna, shocked.

Not only was that not the standard armor all senshi wore while fighting, but the bow was clearly not normal. In fact it looked like something that the higher ranked soldiers in the Moon Kingdom's defense force might use...the kind of bow only the best marksmen would get upon promotion.

Most of them rarely, if ever, used them, because despite being custom made they kept to the bows they had used until then. Sure, they would practice with them, but mostly they were considered wall decorations.

"Are you absolutely sure that was the bow she used?" said Luna intently.

"It's the same in the picture, why?" asked Ami.

Artemis looked closer and blinked.

"Isn't that the same bow used by the marksmen division in the Queen's private defense force?"

"I believe so," said Luna.

"Wait, Private Defense Force?" repeated Minako.

"If they had a private army, then how did they get wiped out?!" said Rei.

"It was considered more of a ceremonial unit, since the Senshi were the main protectors. Generally they kept the peace until the new generation had been trained by the older ones. All the same, it was filled with the best fighters. As for why the kingdom was still wiped out even with a private army...well, who exactly did you think was taken out first when the youma hit?" said Artemis.

"The entire army was taken out in the first wave, and the senshi were killed one by one once they got past the army. To be fair, the Queen had them working security for the ball that night," said Luna.

The girls winced. Then Shirou asked something else.

"Were they reincarnated with the girls?"

"I have no idea. If they were, they're likely already in the Japanese army or mercenaries. The only way they'd help is if the Princess ordered them," said Artemis.

That made them depressed. So much for some extra help.

Suddenly came in looking startled.

"Rei, turn on the news!"

Rei grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

" _We're here live in front of Makimura Avenue where yet another youma attack has occurred. However unlike recent years, it seems that Jyuban has attracted new Monster Hunters instead of the senshi we are so familiar with. Touya?"_

" _Thank you Tsubaki. I'm standing here with a man who took out one of the menaces called Youma in less time than it takes for the resident magical girls to even show up."_

Touya turned to the man, a mildly amused blond with piercing red eyes.

" _Sir, could we have a word?"_

" _First off, I'm not a 'monster hunter'. I was just trying to avoid the sheer level of estrogen in my house when one of those things showed up and annoyed me by trying to drain my energy. It was just their bad luck I'm more used to stronger enemies."_

" _Any words of advice to others targeted by these youma?"_

" _Get out of the way when these 'senshi' show up, and try to avoid the area until it's gone. I can't speak for my girlfriend or the others, but from what I've seen these magical girls don't even bother to train their powers, let alone learn how to aim. It's more like they just throw the one spell they have and hope it sticks long enough to destroy the weekly sacrifice,"_ said the blond.

The reporter sweatdropped, as the man said the very same thing most people thought, but were too polite to say in case it angered the only people who were able to deal with the monster attacks in the first place.

Rei turned off the TV, her face furious.

"I did try to warn you of what people really thought," said Shirou wincing.

Shirou was quite likely the only one of the group who heard the real opinions of the masses, since the girls had long since established themselves as 'defenders' of the Senshi with their friends. Meaning they didn't like hearing anything bad about the magical girls.


	11. Chapter 11

The first time Shirou ran into Mashiro, it would pave the way to a massive headache that the blond hadn't been expecting at all.

The headache of being reunited with a family she thought she lost in the fire. And having to deal with her parents reactions to the fact she was currently living with her _boyfriend_. Or having a bratty younger brother.

On the plus side, Gilgamesh finally had someone to commiserate to about being outnumbered by the girls, or the sheer level of girl talk he had to listen to.

* * *

Shirou ran into Mashiro while she was out shopping for things a house with four girls needed. When you had four females living together, all teenagers, you tend to run out of things pretty damn fast. Especially once you've synced to others schedules.

It was beyond embarrassing when Saber had to be given a very blunt explanation of feminine hygiene products and how they worked.

That kind of shopping had to be done by one of the girls. No way Ven or Gil would do it.

Shirou, when he saw Mashiro, also saw his chance to at least find out a few things.

So he deliberately bumped into her, spilling her bag.

"I am so sorry about that!"

"It's not a problem...though next time you bump into someone, don't try it on someone who's paying attention and can see a set up a mile away."

Shirou winced.

"Also it's not exactly smart to try and hit on someone who A, already has a boyfriend, and B, has five very overprotective roommates, one of which is her sister."

His wince was more pronounced.

"Sorry. I honestly just wanted to talk. I wasn't trying to hit on you," said Shirou.

The girl gave him a level look, before saying "Let me finish my shopping and we can talk at the cafe across the street."

Shirou nodded, since he had gotten a good look at what was inside and honestly did not need to know any more.

The blond found Shirou waiting, with a cup of tea in front of him.

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"Are you from Fuyuki?" he asked bluntly.

Suddenly Mashiro remembered what she found out about her original self. She pinched the bridge of her nose before she said "This is about the fire isn't it?"

Shirou nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Tsukino Shirou."

"My name is Emiya Mashiro, and yes, I did come from Fuyuki. But _only_ because my high school was recently destroyed during a mystery bombing."

"Does the name Usagi mean anything to you?"

"Let's just make this easier. I was adopted at seven, I had no memories of my previous name, and the closest thing I've ever had to a mother figure in my life is a slightly crazy woman named Fujimura Taiga who is currently my legal guardian until next year. I've lived in Fuyuki for as long as I can remember, and I'm not going to go looking for family I _might_ have at the moment," said Mashiro firmly.

"Aren't you the least bit curious if you're..."

"Considering there's a high likelihood that if I did find my parents they wouldn't like the fact I'm living with my boyfriend and four others in the same house, not particularly. I have my own life now and I seriously doubt that I could handle trying to reconnect with my long lost family with all the craziness in my life. Especially since I only recently started school," said Mashiro.

"Could I at least get your number? In case you are curious?" asked Shirou.

Mashiro rolled her eyes, but wrote it down. If nothing else she could change numbers, and the house was in Gilgamesh's name so they'd have a hell of a time tracing it back to her.

* * *

Shirou screwed up his courage. Today was one of the rare days his dad was actually _home_ for a few days, so this was possibly the only time to break it to the entire family.

"What's wrong Shirou? You've been unusually quiet this evening," said his mother.

"I didn't want to say anything, at least not without some additional proof...but I think I found Usagi."

Ikuko paused, as did the rest of the house.

"What."

"I was in the arcade the other day and I saw a girl who looked almost identical to the picture, but much older. About seventeen or so. She even had the same color eyes. When I finally got a chance to talk to her, she said she came from Fuyuki and didn't remember anything before she was seven. She's attending school somewhere in the city, but I never had a chance to ask her which one," said Shirou slowly, making sure to speak full sentences.

"Come on, Shirou-nii, what are the odds you'd run into her ten years after..." started Shungo, but Shirou pulled out his phone and brought out the picture. Then he pulled out the photo he had asked Ami to digitally age forward by ten years.

"This is Usagi at least ten years older, and this is the girl I ran into," said Shirou simply. They were almost an identical match, outside of the hair styles and the eyes. Usagi had an innocent and childish expression. The other had a calm, but still adult expression.

In fact, Shirou would be hard pressed to say this Mashiro had a presence short of 'royal', which was weird.

"We'd need a DNA test to confirm it," said his dad almost warily. It wasn't that he didn't believe Shirou, but there were documented cases of identical people with nothing in common.

In any case, the chance Usagi was _alive_ and in the city right now was too tempting to resist. Ikuko had never really gotten over losing her first born child, even after adopting Shirou to replace her.

Shirou carefully did _not_ mention Mashiro said something about living with her boyfriend and four others. One major shock a night was enough.

* * *

"So you ran into someone who might lead you to your birth parents...and you denied him, _why_?" said Haruka.

"How would a parent who's found their long lost _teenaged_ daughter take the fact she's living with her boyfriend?" said Mashiro, raising an eyebrow.

Haruka thought that one out, and then winced.

"I see your point."

Father's of teenaged girls were already paranoid enough of them dating. Finding out your long lost daughter was _living_ with her boyfriend, even in separate rooms would be enough to send a normal father up the wall.

To be fair, Gil had his own piece to say about living with four girls and only two guys in the same roof. There were simply too many people in the house for anything _to_ happen, even if he did double up on the girls in his bed. Not to mention Sakura and Illya tended to bunk with Mashiro, so there wasn't any room anyway!

"What happens if they turn out to be your parents?" asked Michiru.

"We'll probably have a few sit downs to get to know each other, they'll try to get me to move in, and then I'll have to explain that my house is much closer to my current school and I have no intention of leaving it because of the fact my sister and friends already go here," said Mashiro.

Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru were quite pleased with the fact Mashiro was placing them firmly in the 'reasons I don't feel like changing schools' category.

"There's also the fact that I know Shirou is in league with the Senshi, which also includes a really bossy cat, and I have no intention of dealing with them right now."

"Bossy cat?" said Haruka, in disbelief.

"You know that white cat Sailor Venus has? Well _his_ girlfriend is a purplish black cat with a really bossy attitude. Sort of like one of those old fashioned British governesses with a grumpy attitude," said Mashiro.

"Ouch," said Haruka.

"On an unrelated note, has anyone else been experiencing headaches that aren't of the homework variety in class?" asked Mashiro.

"I'm pretty sure we all have. Especially in Knight-sensei's science class," said Michiru.

Mashiro nodded...then pulled out a piece of paper from her purse.

"Take a look at this. I dropped my pen the other day in science class and found _this_ painted under the table," said Mashiro.

Illya frowned.

"That looks a lot like the sigils that Caster put on the school back home," said Sakura.

"That appears to be an energy draining array. A low powered one, and considering all the headaches we get in class one that hasn't been fully activated."

Haruka and Michiru looked upset, while Hotaru looked confused.

"Wait, are you saying..." started Haruka.

"I'm saying that while the school doesn't appear to be in league with the youma or that lot, there's something going on in the background that could be just as nasty. It seems to be waiting for something, likely preparing, but I seriously doubt the teachers are entirely unaware of what's going on."

Especially all the times people went to the nurse complaining about headaches.

"So the real question is, which teachers are possibly in on it, and when should we do something about it?" said Mashiro.

"You're not going to go overkill on this school like you did last time are you?" asked Sakura.

"Depends on what the threat is."

"No going overkill," said Sakura, her hand latched quite firmly on Mashiro's ear.

"Ow! Fine! Can I at least go total overkill on those stupid dark generals and finally lure out whatever idiot keeps sending the weekly sacrifices...er, monsters?" said Mashiro with a whine.

"Do I look like I care unless there's collateral damage?" said Sakura flatly.

"Do we want to know?" asked Haruka, absolutely amused.

"Do the words plausible deniability tell you anything?" Sakura said back.

"Yes. Yes it does."

* * *

The first OFFICIAL fight of Sailor Moon ended with the Dark General needing a healer, stat, and the weekly sacrifice (as Mashiro insisted on calling the youma) dead before it had a chance to even raise a hand.

Needless to say the Senshi (and the press) quickly realized that the mystery Archer was in fact a new Senshi, one who clearly had more training and much better aim.

Luna was now on a mission to locate and speak with the newcomer. Or in the words of Shirou once he was absolutely sure none of it would be repeated to the feline, she was going to "Nag the hell out of the girl until she introduced herself".

To be fair, Luna did tend to get on even Shirou's saint-like patience some days.

Minako was lucky. She had gotten the much more laid back of the two as her trainer/partner.

The thing that bugged Luna the most thought was Sailor Moon's outfit. It looked like the standard Senshi uniform, except the coloring was way off and she quite clearly had the royal crest on her tiara rather than a jewel.

Not to mention the power output coming off the girl was far above the others.

* * *

"So why are you still using that compact you made in Fuyuki instead of the one you got from that game?" asked Illya.

"I tried that stupid thing, and it's defective. It's like training wheels or something. I couldn't use my magic, my bow disappeared and only returned once the transformation wore off, the power output went way down, and the worst part was that the only _weapon_ I had was the stupid tiara! I'm starting to think it's not entirely the senshi's fault they suck so much," complained Mashiro.

"...So can I have it to play with?" asked Illya. After seeing her alternate self and the fun she had as a magical girl, she wanted to try it out for herself.

Illya had to catch the compact as Mashiro threw it to her.

"Maybe Sakura has some ideas on a gem to power that thing," said Mashiro.

"So the gist of it is that you think the Senshi were all given 'training wheels' so to speak and that's why they only have the one spell to use?" said Gilgamesh.

"If that compact is anything like their transformation sticks, then yes. And again, I don't think they've had much training to begin with, outside of Venus."

"Certainly explains why they got killed so fast when the kingdom was destroyed...that and they were indoors at the time," said Gilgamesh.

"So what do you think? Should we offer to give them a break so they can train, or just tell them why the real reason they need help?" said Mashiro.

"Keep upstaging them and proving you have a better grasp on your powers, then tell them."

"And before I forget, would anyone mind if I got a dog? There's this cat I keep spotting around the neighborhood and it's bugging me," said Illya.

"A pet dog or one you plan on turning into a familiar?" asked Mashiro seriously.

"A bit of both, but if it crosses out bounded fields I'm going to dissect the thing," said Illya. No normal feline would ignore the 'danger' represented by the fields, and most of the animals in the neighborhood avoided their house.

"What cat?" said Gilgamesh.

"Dark fur, weird forehead marking and eyes as red as both of ours."

"...Go see if that stupid thing is hanging around again, and _I'll_ deal with the furball. Should be worth a laugh at any rate," said Gilgamesh. If only because Luna would _absolutely_ recognize him on sight.

Illya went out and peeked over the wall. Sure enough, the oddly-colored cat was sitting on a wall not too far from the house and pretending not to watch.

"Mashiro-nee, where did you put that video camera from our recreation of that weird dance they did in the SOS Brigade?" asked Illya sweetly.

"I put it in the second drawer in my section of the closet."

Illya went into their room, got the camera and had it zoom in on the area where the cat was. Then Gilgamesh slipped out and went to have a...talk...with the feline adviser.

What Luna said to Gilgamesh could not be repeated in front of small children, but Mashiro and Illya were laughing hysterically watching the uptight and bossy cat curse worse than any sailor alive the moment she realized who was holding her by the scruff of the neck, looking _exactly_ the same as he did back when the Queen was alive and with all of his memories.

Sakura actually took notes, and Saber was silently impressed at the sheer vocabulary the cat had.

And no, they never did get an answer for why Luna (or the previous Queen) disliked Gilgamesh so much. And he never figured it out either, because he was always polite during his limited interactions with them.


	12. Chapter 12

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**_

* * *

It was to some shock that they were 'confronted' by Sailor Moon shortly after starting their weekly meeting.

"Not a bad place to talk, though a bit too open," she said, leaning against the tree.

Luna got indignant in a hurry.

"Three months you've been acting as a Senshi and _now_ you decide to present yourself? I hope for your sake when we find the Princess she doesn't take you to task for your lax attitude!"

"This coming from the fur ball who swore worse than any sailor I've ever met because she was confronted on her stalking techniques?" said the girl raising an eyebrow.

"Luna cursed?" was the general consensus, as they all turned to look at the cat incredulous.

"My boyfriend heard she was trying to spy on us, so he confronted her before she reached the house. I have recordings of her language if you don't believe me. And before you try to berate me over some princess no one has seen or heard from, maybe I should ask her why her advisers have been giving out underpowered transformation pens to her inner court," the girl shot back.

"What do you mean underpowered?" said Rei.

"Don't any of you think it's odd that in the years you've been fighting these youma, that you've only ever used ONE spell each to defeat them? Not to mention that when I tried to use my bow with the compact I got from that arcade game, it disappeared and the only weapon available was my tiara. At the very least your powers are either being stunted or the pens you have now are like magical training wheels."

Minako blinked.

"Now that you mention it, my powers were a lot stronger when I used the compact Artemis gave me than they are when I use my senshi pen," she said thoughtful.

"Now hold on a moment! Those pens are important training tools!" said Luna.

"Exactly. They're _training_ tools. They're not supposed to be used exclusively for fighting, but for teaching them how to harness their powers effectively. I bet each and every one of you could figure out how to transform _without_ the pens if you tried. You might find yourself with a few new tricks...that is, if you actually put in the effort," she replied.

The girls shared a look. To be fair, _none_ of them had even thought to try something like that.

"What's your name anyway?" asked Rei, realizing they had completely forgotten to ask.

"Emiya Mashiro. And before you ask the next question, like why you haven't seen me around town, I only get out every once in a while because I attend a very private school near the edge of the water," she replied immediately.

Well that explained a lot.

Mashiro suddenly looked at Rei hard for a moment, before she asked "Your name wouldn't happen to be Rei Hino, would it?"

Rei winced.

"Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, just that Rin mentioned there was a girl in her class who was...interesting. Which by her standards means that there was something off," replied Mashiro.

"Please tell me you're not referring to that insufferable girl known as Tohsaka," groaned Rei.

Rin Tohsaka was the bane of her existence. She was popular, and a bit of a snob. Not to mention extremely bossy.

Mashiro grinned evilly.

"If you really want to annoy Rin, just ask her if the rumor she was 'second best to a ditzy blond' in Fuyuki is true. She's a major Tsundere, so I'm sure you can find a bunch of ways to exploit that," said Mashiro.

Rei suddenly had an evil glint of her own.

"Thanks for the advice."

"Oh trust me, if Rin gets to be too annoying you can ask my sister Illya for tips on how to get under her skin. Those two got along like oil and water, and Illya loves annoying her for no reason," said Mashiro cheerfully.

"...Is anyone else creeped out by the evil laugh?" asked Makoto, looking at Rei slightly freaked.

"It's not just you," said Minako, also staring at the shrine maiden in disbelief.

"Anyway I mostly came here with an offer of training you once a week, with the agreement that my side will handle the youma until you're up to standards. And by that, I mean not a complete and utter embarrassment to the title of 'magical girl'," said Mashiro. Then she looked at the cats. "I am curious as to why you dislike Gilgamesh so much though."

Luna seemed to grit her teeth in frustration.

"It's because of the vision the Queen had while trying to determine who would marry the princess. Endymion had a single daughter with pink hair, while Gilgamesh would have lead to a pair of golden haired twins."

The girls stared at Luna in disbelief, so Artemis filled them in.

"Generally any time a Queen has twins, it leads to disaster. The rule was set that only _one_ heir to the throne is allowed at any time, so when the Queen saw twins she immediately vetoed the idea of allowing Serenity to marry him, no matter how much the Princess obviously preferred him over Endymion. So she set the Princess up by adding extra guards around the way point that lead to Babylon and allowed the guard around the one to Atlantis to be lax on certain days."

Seeing their wide eyes, Mashiro grinned.

"According to a reliable source, the Moon Kingdom was around the same time as both Atlantis and Babylon, when King Gilgamesh ruled. Apparently the reason why he made the Hanging Gardens was because he had a huge crush on the Princess, and he knew she loved flowers."

"That is... so tragically romantic!" gushed Minako, eyes sparkling. An entire kingdom setting up flowers all because a King fell for a Princess, only to be torn apart because the girl's mother had some weird rules.

"The irony was that if the Queen _had_ allowed the Princess to marry the man she liked, the entire mess with the youma attacking might not have even happened. Apparently the reason why Beryl undid the seal was because she was pissed that Serenity was getting her boyfriend, despite not actually being in love with him."

"So how do we contact you?" asked Makoto.

"Well I did also get this weird watch from that game when I went back. Though I refuse to use the compact I got from that game. I let my sister Illya have it to play around with, and she's hoping to find another gem to make the thing work. She's an Otaku hooked on the magical girl genre," said Mashiro shrugging.

"That's the communicator," said Ami.

"Just please, don't contact me during class unless absolutely necessary. I'm having a hard enough time keeping my brain from turning to mush during Calculus, and I really don't need the distraction," said Mashiro. Mainly because she suspected the teacher, or the assistant teacher was in on the scheme they found by accident.

On the plus side, they did also learn that Haruka and Michiru were senshi early, though Gilgamesh had flat out told them that they were specifically Sailor Neptune and Uranus, part of the Outer Court who were considered the first defense against outside attack.

Haruka had been disgusted...right up until Gilgamesh told her the Outers were better trained and less involved with court matters except on rare occasions. They also had specific weapons designed by their powers. In the tomboy's case it was a sword, and for Michiru it was an ornate mirror with the symbol for Neptune in gold on the back.

Hotaru, he said, could be Sailor Saturn, but he was getting mixed readings off her and he couldn't explain why.

About the only Senshi not reborn by his guess...was Sailor Pluto. The woman he blamed for the start of this mess, since she allowed the Queen even a remote glimpse of her daughter's future.

Time travel was forbidden for a _reason_ , and Pluto should have known better than to allow the Queen to borrow the mirrors.

It had been two weeks since Mashiro appeared, and today would be their first training session.

Lesson one...transformation without the use of their Senshi pens, which were supposed to be training tools.

Which was why the first thing she did was confiscate the pens, much to the vocal disapproval of the darker furred cat.

Especially since she let Illya play with them in the hopes she figured out how to use the compact.

And to their credit, not one of the girls complained about it being difficult, or getting sweaty. Gilgamesh, Saber and the Gorgon sisters had taken a lot of heat off the senshi for the moment, but they had made it clear that this was only until they learned how to fight properly.

They weren't going to do their job for them, which was dealing with Beryl and the 'Dark Generals' once and for all.

That being said, Gilgamesh still wanted a crack at the red haired hag who killed the girl he loved the first time around, and was trying to do again. He would only interfere with Metallia if Mashiro asked him to.

"The first thing we're going to do is working to access your magic. And make no mistake, it is magic. Which is why you're going to use the activating phrase and then try to reach for your powers without the pens."

To emphasize this, Mashiro had also confiscated Minako's compact.

Minako shrugged, before she said the phrase.

Then her expression went from nonchalant to shock and disbelief. It was like her powers were actively trying to reach for the pens.

"Remember! You need to transform anywhere, any time! Your pens won't always been on hand, and are a crutch! Focus on transforming and letting your powers find a natural secondary outlet!" said Mashiro.

Minako concentrated on transforming. Her power was well familiar with it by now, and really, relying on pens was a bit silly.

Imagine her shock when she could feel something well up inside her, as a crude magical circle appeared beneath her. Unknown to the blond, Illya was recording everything and taking notes.

It took Minako ten minutes, but the results spoke for themselves.

She had transformed...more or less...without the pen. And in a weird way, it felt more natural. And instead of the usual orange broach that kept her bow nice and tidy, there was now a compact with the symbol for Venus on it.

Luna had left angrily long before the girls had finished. Artemis had watched with a proud gaze, since he was well aware that the pens were only intended to be training tools from the start.

Tradition was all and good...but occasionally new ones had to be made. A fact Luna didn't like to admit. She was set in her ways, after all.

"Wow. I actually feel more powerful than I did with the pen," said Jupiter.

"Same here," said Mars.

"Now that you've learned how to access your Senshi forms without the pens, we'll move to stage two. Aiming. Your teamwork is so shoddy it's just sad. To that end I'm teaching you how to use a bow."

None of them complained. Ami had looked up the name "Mashiro Emiya" and come up with a picture from the recent Olympics with the blond girl holding a standard bow...with a gold medal. They weren't going to argue against a girl who had won at an Olympic-level sport on her first try without even blinking.

Shirou and Mamoru went to visit the girls at the temple, to see how training had gone. Only to find every one of them slumped over the table, with Artemis delivering heat packs to sore muscles.

"How did training go?" asked Mamoru.

The sheer level of annoyance made him step back. Shirou blinked.

"That rough?"

"She made us learn archery to improve our aim. And then we had to run teamwork drills when the transformations wore off. We had to keep a small ball filled with beads in the air with paddles by throwing it to each other. Then she threw more in and said we had to keep balls the color of our uniform in the air on top of it. We were only allowed to keep our own color up, and every time we hit the wrong one she hit us with a punishment shot after the first hour," said Rei.

"That doesn't sound too bad," said Shirou. Rei glared at him.

"The punishment shot was some sort of weird spell she called a 'Gandr' and it made us feel like we were all suffering heavy cramps for a full ten minutes," she shot back. Shirou winced.

"And were suffered an additional shot if we allowed our ball to drop because we were under that spell," said Minako.

"On the plus side, I can honestly say our teamwork's better. And she said if we can improve by the next time we have a meet, she'll switch to paintballs, and the punishment will be us dodging for five minutes with no shooting back," said Makoto.

"At least she has an idea of how to train people, even if her ideas on magic are a bit odd," said Artemis.

"Only because she was the captain of the Archery club!" said Rei.

"Did you at least get something productive done?" asked Shirou.

"We don't need the pens to transform anymore. And our powers are way higher without them," said Minako. The amount they used was still a bit sloppy, but considering they weren't using their pens to regulate how much they had, it was acceptable.

"On the plus side, people seem to be taking the news that you're taking a break to properly train your powers really well. And the number of youma attacks have dropped."

Actually the common consensus was "It's about damn time!"

Finding out the Senshi FINALLY had someone to teach them how to use their powers was something the normal person was glad to hear. Especially the store and building owners, since that could only mean they wouldn't do as much collateral damage anymore.

The girls only groaned.

Then Shirou thought of something and asked Mamoru "Why didn't you go with them to the training session? I mean you mostly act as a distraction during the fights."

Mamoru glared at his fellow male.

"I had cram school. In case you've forgotten, I do plan on being a doctor."

Shirou hid his wince. He had a lot of practice at it.

"Think she'd mind if I joined you? With how quickly they're dispatching the youma, my usual job is pretty much curtailed," asked Shirou.

"We can ask later. Right now all I want is a hot bath, some good food, and a nice long nap," said Minako.

"I'll get to work on some food, if your grandfather doesn't mind," said Shirou.

"Just make sure to save some for us to eat for dinner, and I doubt he'll care," said Rei.

Wouldn't be the first time they'd had a sleep over at the temple.

Shirou looked at his fellow guy. Mamoru was nice and all, but there was something about him that seemed...fake.

Like he didn't really care what happened to the girls, so long as his role as the dominate male was recognized.

A role often threatened by Shirou, whether intentionally or not. So while Mamoru was 'polite' and 'warm' to Shirou and the girls, there was something under it that set Shirou's teeth on edge.

Probably why they never bothered to be more than working collegues.


	13. Chapter 13

It was ironic that in less than a month the Senshi went from being a joke to a proper team. Then again Mashiro's charisma combined with the fact she had a general idea of how to train rookies on how to improve (provided they actually _practiced_ on their own time) meant that the Senshi could actually use spells together rather than have a near miss of a teammate.

Mashiro wasn't idle during these sessions. She was training with her own powers, if only to stay ahead of the game.

By common consensus, the Senshi gladly handed over the reigns of leader from Sailor Venus to Sailor Moon.

But that wasn't the only thing that happened during the two month span Mashiro spent giving the Senshi much needed training.

Fujimura Taiga had flown all the way to Jyuban so Mashiro could have her 'legal' guardian there when she met her mother for the first time. Mashiro had donated a single hair to Shirou just to see if she really did have parents still alive.

She refused to answer to the name Usagi Tsukino though. She was firmly Mashiro Emiya.

* * *

Ikuko Tsukino was anxious. And who could blame her? She thought she lost her first born child to a fire that claimed hundreds, only to find out she had survived with no memory and had been adopted by another family...and then orphaned a second time.

She saw a blond girl who looked like the picture Shirou had taken, and her heart leaped into her chest. She looked so much like her Usagi. She was glad Shirou had managed to convince her into at least meeting her mother. The other woman next to her had this air of a perpetual child, but at the same time seriousness.

"So...you're my birth mother," said Mashiro, having ordered some iced tea.

Ikuko looked close to tears, finding her daughter after all this time.

"I understand it must have been hard for you, losing your memory," said Ikuko.

"It was at first, fortunately my dad was able to handle it."

"What sort of person was he?"

"When he got serious, it was better to get out of his way. He'd do anything to protect his family, but not at any cost. He'd have it with his honor intact or not at all. And he couldn't cook at all," said Mashiro.

"Kiritsugu was odd, but he'd do anything for his daughter if she needed help. Even if he did disappear for days at a time."

"He was trying to get Illya back, remember? Even if he never did explain it to us," Mashiro reminded her.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Fujimura Taiga, Mashiro's legal guardian and former adviser/homeroom teacher."

"And unrepentant mooch," Mashiro shot back.

"Former adviser?" said Ikuko.

"I'm was the captain of the school archery team, which Fuji-nee happened to be the teaching adviser of. At least until some idiot tried to blow up the school, thankfully without any students or teachers inside," said Mashiro.

Before Ikuko could say anything, there was a commotion outside. Mashiro took one look and rolled her eyes.

"These youma are seriously becoming a nuisance."

Then she perked up seeing someone.

"Isn't that your boy-toy Gil?" said Taiga, her angle being good enough to see down the street.

"Monster Hunter Gil. He really hates that nickname. Let me go check if it is him," said Mashiro.

Taiga waited until Mashiro was out, before she looked at Ikuko seriously.

"I know you're eager to get to know your lost daughter, but if you want to have a decent relationship with her, I'd advise giving her space for now. Mashiro has always been very independent, since she had to run the household after Kiritsugu died. Even after the funeral, she was determined to stay in the house where her father raised her. She has an excellent work ethic, and I absolutely trust her."

"Is she really living with her boyfriend?"

"Mashiro made it very clear they would have separate beds until they were married...and Gil is so outnumbered by the girls it's funny. She doesn't mind sharing her room with her best friend and sister, but she's a very responsible girl. And Gil loves her. He'd never do anything to hurt her future, like get her pregnant."

Mashiro walked in with the most handsome man Ikuko had ever seen in her life. His crimson eyes seemed to hold a regal gaze, as if everyone were beneath him...and yet, when he looked at her daughter, that gaze softened to the purest form of love she had ever seen. A love that endured, never changing no matter what time or fate threw at it.

Gilgamesh might be arrogant, but when he found someone he acknowledged his equal, their value to him was something that was set in stone. Much like Enkidu would have Gilgamesh's eternal friendship, Princess Serenity and her reincarnations would always have his eternal love and devotion. He would quite literally fight the gods to protect her.

Ikuko had no doubt that this man would never do anything to harm her daughter. And for that, she could trust him with her future.

"Meet my boyfriend, Gilgamesh. Or Gil for short," said Mashiro.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Gil-san," said Ikuko. She met Gil's eyes, and understanding passed between them.

To be completely honest, she would rather her daughter dated someone with a name as odd as Gilgamesh than Shirou's friend Mamoru. While he was a nice boy, there was always something about him Ikuko didn't trust. A weakness that said he would only be a hindrance if something were to happen to her sons and daughter.

In short he was about as useful as Tuxedo Kamen in a Senshi fight. He didn't have that inner strength to carry his own weight, and he knew it. He resented this fact and barely hid his desire to take it out on others.

So no, Ikuko never fully trusted him. Gilgamesh, however, she felt she could trust.

"That went well," said Mashiro.

"I like her. A lot more than I ever did Queen Serenity, that's for damn sure," said Gilgamesh flatly.

This woman recognized his true devotion to her daughter, and that he was a decent man who would never harm her. She also had frequent exposure to Mamoru Chiba, who Gilgamesh suspected was Endymion's new name.

Gil had a good laugh when he found out Ikuko felt that Shirou's friend Mamoru was lacking in something. She just could never figure out what.

Gilgamesh knew though. Endymion never did like the fact that no matter what he did, he would always be second fiddle to the Queen. Whether it was the mother or her daughter. No amount of power could compare to the Ginzuisho, or the fact that upon bearing a child the Princess would take over as a Goddess.

And he hated that.

It was little wonder that he had been dating Beryl before the Queen started to manipulate her daughter. They were a match made in hell.

"Still, at least I don't have to worry about her asking me to move in with them," said Mashiro pleased.

Instead they had come up with an arrangement much like one you would find with a child living abroad for extended periods. She would visit on holidays and special outings, and in return they wouldn't comment about the fact she was living with her boyfriend and shared her room with two other girls...not that they knew that.

All they knew was that it was a full house. A _very_ full house.

Besides, Mashiro's home was right next to Infinity Academy grounds. Much easier commute.

Mashiro also agreed to bring her 'family' with her next Sunday for dinner, mostly to introduce Shungo and Shirou to their extra sister Illyasviel and Mashiro's best friend Sakura. Mashiro was quite firm in claiming that relation, and Ikuko had no problems welcoming the two into her home.

She had already welcomed Shirou's female friends Minako, Makoto, Rei and Ami as part of the family.

* * *

Mashiro was grinning evilly as she heard the whispers from clear across the room as class ended. Some of the girls had been extra snide asking what sort of boy would want to date someone as 'ditzy' and 'brutish' as Mashiro, despite the fact everyone knew she had a boyfriend. Most of the girls "assumed" it was some nerd who had been blinded by Mashiro's looks, or some idiot who used her for homework.

So when she told Gil to wait for her at the entrance that lead outside the Academy to prove a point, he had been more than happy to show off that he was Mashiro's boyfriend.

Apparently he was under the belief that some of the boys had been trying to make moves on his girl...not that Mashiro was tired of the idiot females.

Naturally someone as hot as Gilgamesh, along with his natural charisma, made waves just by being there.

Mashiro broke past the other girls, noticing Haruka trying not to laugh as she knew what was going on.

She spotted Gilgamesh looking bored, and when he saw her he broke into a wide smile.

Several of the more snobbish girls gaped openly at the kiss he gave her, and every single one of them had been particularly annoying because Mashiro was actually useful beyond looking pretty and having kids.

Haruka was snickering the entire time.

"Who is _that_ hunky guy? And why did he kiss that total bore?" demanded Aoi, a particularly annoying Heiress who barely had a brain cell between her and her three friends.

"His name is Gil and he's Mashiro's boyfriend," said Haruka, getting over her giggle fit.

"No way a hottie like that would date someone as boring as _her_!"

"You're welcome to try and tempt him, but I have it on good authority he only has eyes for Shiro-chan," said Haruka.

"What a waste," said Aoi, sighing after Gil.

* * *

Ikuko heard the doorbell go off, and sent Shirou to open it. Tonight was the first family dinner they'd had with her daughter since she was lost. Even her husband had gotten time off work long enough so he could properly meet this Gil.

There in the door was an albino girl carrying some form of hot dish, a purple haired girl with what was clearly a vegetable platter, Mashiro carrying dessert, and Gil with drinks.

Saber and Ven had declined coming along, stating it was for family. Well that and there was a show on TV that Ven wanted to watch.

"I figured we'd come early and bring food. We normally have to cook for a few black holes anyway," said Mashiro cheerfully.

And by that she meant Saber, Gil and Ven.

Ikuko had to hold back a laugh when she realized Sakura and Illyasviel ("Call me Illya, we are family now after all.") were immediately honing on her oldest son like a girl to a shoe sale. To be honest she had despaired of getting any grandchildren out of him after she realized he wasn't particularly attuned to the idea of love, despite concentrated efforts and _long_ hours with therapists.

Especially when he didn't seem to realize he had four lovely girls he could date.

Ikuko had to smile when she saw Shungo, Mashiro, and Illya immediately bond over video games. The boy had heard what a girly-girl his sister was from Shirou, so the fact Mashiro dove happy into a shooting game without any hesitation was a nice surprise. Hearing them bicker like siblings made her very happy, especially when the girls tag-teamed against him. Sakura helped Ikuko in the kitchen, mostly to feel useful. According to her Mashiro was quite the chef, but she was best at making large meals instead of small ones.

Gil was discussing something with Shirou, who seemed more resigned than anything.

Dinner turned out to be fairly calm. Aside from a few awkward moments when Mashiro had to explain a random comment she made about her 'guardian' and older sister Taiga, or the reason why Sakura was considered her sister in all but blood (making the parents wince at the thought of the poor girl being abused by her former family), dinner was actually a success in Ikuko's eyes.

Then came the odd discussion Gil had with her son.

"She's not going to like this."

"It's not her call. She defers to the Princess, and whether she likes it or not, the Princess clearly doesn't want a repeat of the mistake her mother made," said Gil flatly.

"Yes, but you don't have to live with her, and Minako refuses to keep her after what happened last time," said Shirou with a grimace.

"Well I'm sick of dealing with these small fry. It's past time to lure out the big fish anyway," said Gil.

And the only thing that would lure Beryl out of hiding was the Princess.

"So what are you two talking about?" asked Ikuko.

Shirou looked at Gil, who rolled his eyes.

"Just that it's past time you were told the truth about what Shirou's been doing with those girls he brings over," said Gil.

"Just so you know, I'm throwing you into the fire when Luna finds out you blew the secret."

"I can handle that overbearing fool," said Gil with a snort.

Needless to say Ikuko was beyond shocked Shirou had been running around helping the Sailor Senshi...or that her daughter was their leader.

At least Mashiro knew what she was doing.


	14. Chapter 14

Malachite was leading the attack, since Jadeite had failed so spectacularly.

So imagine his shock when he caught a glimpse of the cursed Princess behind Sailor Moon as she destroyed his two youma.

Could it be that the leader of the accursed Senshi was the missing Princess?

He must report this to his Queen.

* * *

"Our hated enemy has appeared!" said Beryl, her eyes filled with madness.

"My Queen, what should we do?" asked Malachite.

"Capture this Sailor Moon, and we shall offer her soul to our great leader Metallia!"

"As you wish, my queen," said Malachite.

* * *

Luna was beyond furious with Mashiro. She revealed the existence of the Senshi to someone who wasn't already in the know and had no direct contact with them, like Shirou.

Which was why she suggested they go to the remnants of the Moon Kingdom, since Sailor Moon refused to listen to reason. Perhaps the Queen could convince the girl to behave.

Much to her annoyance, Shirou and Gilgamesh insisted on coming along. She just hoped the spells that contained the atmosphere were still working.

The girls cast the spell, activating the last remaining way point gate, and they vanished.

Gilgamesh looked around with nostalgia. It had been a very, very long time since he had set foot on the moon like this.

Considering he remembered the place better than those caught in Queen Serenity's resurrection spell, he played tour guide.

Luna was still beyond furious he had apparently been reborn as well, and Gilgamesh had far too much fun annoying her to explain the Heaven's Feel tournament to her.

The others were too busy watching Gilgamesh get into a rather heated shouting match with a _cat_ to explain to the irate feline that Mashiro's past self had accidentally summoned him in a free-for-all tournament where murder was not only accepted, but was all but outright encouraged if it meant winning. That Princess Serenity had seen the chance to get the guy she actually wanted, and instead of caring about royal duty or the fact she had been engaged to a man she _barely_ tolerated, she chose love instead.

Because there was no doubt to the Fuyuki group that it had been the Princess who summoned Gilgamesh, and Mashiro was just taken for a ride. Not that she was complaining mind you.

Artemis, oddly enough, got along rather well with Gilgamesh. Apparently he had a more laid back personality...or overexposure to the idol-crazy Minako without Luna to back him up had lead to him developing something of an immunity to the sheer estrogen a group of teenaged magically-powered girls could generate.

Or it could be that he gravitated to the one source of 'sanity' that wouldn't gush about clothes, boys and anything cute.

Mashiro personally bet it was the second reason, because it would explain why Shirou and Gilgamesh had a long-standing truce, despite the fact Gilgamesh claimed he was a 'natural Faker', meaning he could copy almost anything Gilgamesh threw at him with the proper training. Gil could put aside his dislike of someone capable of copying his treasures if it meant having another guy to shield himself from the fact they were hilariously outnumbered by the girls. As it was, they were slowly edging towards evening out the numbers.

* * *

When they started finding the body of the Senshi, it was Mashiro who came up with a surprisingly effective way to help them get over the nightmares they were sure to have.

Coincidentally this would coincide with Gilgamesh promptly demanding Shirou let him stay over at his house with Ven, because "There is no way I'm dealing with that many girls in one house during a sleepover!"

Considering Shirou had suffered through something similar once...and Artemis was quick to ask sheepishly if he could join in on a guy's night out...they could sympathize.

Gilgamesh might love Mashiro to death and back, but he refused to deal with a teenaged sleepover. It was bad enough he only had Ven around to used as a shield against the girls.

Finally they reached the area where Princess Serenity had killed herself. Mashiro had been dreading this moment, as had Venus.

Instead they found the sword impaled on a slab of rock, with no bodies to be seen.

"...Do you want to pull the sword from the stone, or should I? Keep in mind that whoever does it has to deal with jokes aimed their way for the entire night and possibly a week," said Sailor Moon.

"Why?" asked Mercury.

"Because we have King Arthur, who's real name is Arturia, living in the room next to mine," said Mashiro with a straight face.

The girls blinked, obviously thinking Sailor Moon was making a joke at their expense. Gilgamesh had an expression on his face saying he wanted to laugh his ass off, but was having trouble keeping himself from doing so considering where they were.

Because he knew Mashiro wasn't joking at all.

"Perhaps Sailor Moon should remove it, considering she's the 'leader'?" said Shirou.

Sailor Moon shrugged, put her hand around the hilt of the Crystal Sword (which had been a gift from King Gilgamesh when he heard there was to be a new Moon Princess) and pulled.

Suddenly Sailor Moon turned an acid look at Luna, who was far too smug. She knew. She had to have know Queen Serenity's ghost was still on the moon, and she had brought them here anyway.

She was so giving that cat a flea bath.

Queen Serenity tried for the benevolent mother/Queen look, but the second she saw a bored Gilgamesh next to her daughter, her anger showed clear as day...even if she was a ghost.

" _YOU! What are you doing with my daughter?"_

"First off, I'm not your daughter. Not anymore. Secondly he's my boyfriend."

" _You don't understand! Marrying him would bring disaster!"_ said the Queen, almost imploring the girl to listen.

Sailor Moon snorted.

"Disaster? Really? Considering being engaged to Endymion lead to the destruction of three separate kingdoms and the end of the Universal Language, I'm curious how marrying Gilgamesh could have lead to something worse," said Sailor Moon flatly.

"I'm curious. What exactly was it that you saw in the Time Mirrors that convinced you that you couldn't trust your own daughter to chose who she could fall in love with?" asked Gilgamesh.

Queen Serenity looked furious.

" _If my daughter had married you, there would have been twins. Endymion would have lead to only one heir, as is the law."_

Sailor Moon wasn't the only one confused.

"Law? What law?"

Luna was the one to clarify.

"There was a rule, a law you will, in the royal family for as long as anyone could remember. The Queen may only have one heir at any time. No one knows why that rule came about, only that it has been upheld since the Queen's rule began for over five reigns," said Luna.

Sailor Moon's eyebrows shot up.

"You mean to tell me that all this, the destruction of three great kingdoms and the death of several royal lines...was because of some weird rule that the Queen could only have one child?!"

" _Twins would bring about disaster,"_ said Queen Serenity.

Sailor Moon pinched the bridge of her nose. There was only _one_ explanation she could think of for such an idiotic rule.

"It sounds to me like the rule wasn't made specifically because there was only one Moon goddess at a time, but more like the previous Queens didn't want to deal with the squabbling over who would inherit the Ginzuisho."

Which, as it turned out, wasn't that far from the truth. Just missing a few pieces of information.

"So just to clarify, the reason why you _allowed_ the Moon Kingdom, Atlantis and eventually Babylon to be destroyed...was because you borrowed one of Pluto's Time Mirrors and saw TWINS?" said Sailor Moon.

Well, when you phrased it like that it just made the Queen sound incredibly petty.

"And the irony is that if she hadn't manipulated her own daughter into getting engaged with Endymion in the first place, then Beryl wouldn't have had a reason to unseal Metallia and lead to the end of the Moon Kingdom," said Gilgamesh loudly.

Queen Serenity's glare could have melt ice.

" _How are you even alive? I know for a fact I didn't include you in the spell."_

"Funny, the irate cat keeps demanding the same thing, and I see no reason to tell you either."

The glaring contest continued...right up until Sailor Moon hit him on the head with a ladle.

Everyone stared at her.

"Where did you get that?" asked Jupiter, honestly impressed.

"It's got many names, but the one I use is 'ladle-space'. To be used as disciplinary measures only," shrugged Sailor Moon.

"...Can you teach me?" asked Mars.

"You'll have to fill a few requirements, but I don't see why not."

Mars looked a little too eager to learn such a technique. Sailor Moon had the feeling she wanted to use it on Rin.

Eh. It wasn't her problem.

Gilgamesh gave her a pouting look, and she gave one of her own.

"Fine, I'll continue exploring."

Right now he wanted answers from Sailor Pluto...like why the hell she had given the mirror to Queen Serenity (no matter how brief) in the first place.

* * *

Sailor Pluto gave Gilgamesh an odd look. He had known there was a door to her somewhere in the Palace that lead straight to the realm of Time and Space. It had been hidden during the attack, so finding it wasn't too difficult.

However the expression on her face clearly said "Why are you still alive?!"

"Why are you here?" she settled on.

"I want to know. Why in the name of sanity did you allow Queen Serenity even a brief glimpse into her daughter's future?"

Pluto actually winced.

"I had only just finished training, and they never covered requests from the Queen. Especially with a properly filled out piece of paper that looked official. It was only when my predecessor came and chastised me when she found out that I learned of my mistake, and by that time the damage had been done. I was reprimanded, and ever since I've refused to let anyone break the laws," said Sailor Pluto.

Gilgamesh looked at her long and hard.

"I believe you. Fortunately the damage can be fixed, but I just wanted to know why you let her."

"...Do you think the Princess can forgive me for the heartache I've caused?"

"Considering it accidentally gave her a clean slate to start with, I don't see why not. She's prepared to give Sailor Saturn a full pardon and open invitation to the Palace when she wakes up, and is already convincing Neptune and Uranus that they don't have to fight alone."

Mashiro refused to let someone fight in her name without being able to join in. If she was going to be represented by people who guarded her kingdom from outside threats, then she wanted to help.

Pluto looked hopeful. The she remembered something.

"I should warn you that once she officially restores the Moon Kingdom and Metallia is gone, that you'll be getting a visit from someone. Whether or not she survives what is to come is up to you and the Princess. But I will say that the future you two have set into motion will be locked."

Gilgamesh caught what she wasn't saying.

"But the future Queen Serenity set into motion still has a potential to happen, so if we do have to time travel it won't be ours?"

"I cannot say anymore than that, just that you should be prepared."

It was the least she could do considering it had been her mistake that caused this mess. But she still had to make it as vague as possible.

It also meant she had to let the others come through, at least once Mashiro determined the girl's fate.

* * *

Mashiro and the other girls spent a long night putting off the nightmares that were sure to come after that little outing by doing something she rarely got to do.

Have a proper sleepover. No monsters, no training, no magic. Just being a normal teenaged girl eating popcorn and enjoying the incredulous looks of the other girls learning she hadn't been joking about King Arthur actually being a woman.

Needless to say Rei and Ami were on her like white on rice asking questions. Rei because she adored reading stories about powerful women who proved they didn't need a man to be great, and Ami because she was a avid fan of history.

And then Minako accidentally found Gilgamesh and Ven's "collection".

Mashiro promptly told them to use the spare room in the attic if they wanted to watch any with Illya, while the rest settled into a romance flick.

To her surprise, Rei, Ami and Makoto took her up on that offer, and Illya set up the movies.

Mashiro did _not_ want to know. It was always the quiet ones...

* * *

Gilgamesh shuddered. He was glad he had avoided being caught in the blast radius of a teenaged sleepover.

Shirou honestly had no idea of what to do in one, and Artemis was just glad not to have to listen to the girls gush about boys and fashion again.

So instead Shirou decided to ask Gilgamesh how he knew so much about the Moon Kingdom.

Gilgamesh snorted.

"I was alive back when it was still around. Queen Serenity didn't include me in her little spell, a fact I both thank and curse her for, but there are other ways to be remembered and brought back. Hers was just on a larger scale," said Gilgamesh. And without nearly as many nasty side effects, he neglected to add.

"That's something that's been bothering us. You look and feel _exactly_ like you did back then, but there are no gods here. So how did you pull it off?" asked Artemis.

"Don't tell your girlfriend," said Gilgamesh. "What do you know of the Throne of Heroes?"

"Absolutely nothing," said Shirou. Artemis frowned.

"I think I've heard about it somewhere, while we were in England. An odd gentleman with red eyes commented on something he called 'Heaven's Feel' and that we'd find out missing Princess if we asked the 'Throne of Heroes' for a little help," said Artemis.

Gilgamesh blinked.

"Red eyes, white hair, an expression that just screamed he was up to make someone's life miserable for shits and giggles and outdated clothing?" said Gilgamesh.

"That's him."

Gilgamesh looked _very_ much like he wanted to bang his head against something.

"You had a run-in with the most infamous trolling dead apostle ancestor in multiple universes. He goes by the name Zelretch."

"What's a dead apostle ancestor?"

"Vampires, basically, though their Princess absolutely refuses to drink blood because the one time she did, she created a vampire that liked to go on a rampage and had a bad habit of reincarnating."

Shirou and Artemis winced.

"So what's the Throne of Heroes?"

"You know how some heroic legends endure, and end up passed down for centuries long after the people who became legend were dead and buried? The Throne of Heroes is where they usually end up. Even Anti-Heroes like Medusa, Jack the Ripper and Dracula."

Shirou paled at the idea of the first two.

"Then again I disliked Medusa on principle, and Jack was really just a little girl who had no sense of modesty," continued Gilgamesh.

"Wait, so why did you end up in this 'Throne of Heroes?" asked Artemis.

Gilgamesh blinked.

"Really? You mean Mercury didn't immediately look me up when she heard my name?"

"Well outside of the papers being so new it was somewhat suspicious, no," said Shirou.

"I'm not _just_ a Hero. I'm the _original_ hero. The King of Heroes to be exact. My legend was the first one of heroes, and I was quite literally born into it. My people believed me to be the 'perfect' king, which was why I took the throne by the time I was eight. Though it's also the reason why I've only ever had one person I could call my friend, and why I never married when the Princess died."

"It's lonely at the top?" said Shirou.

"Pretty much."


	15. Chapter 15

Mashiro's simple plan to alert the Senshi to where the damn base was not only worked...it would open a whole new can of worms that only Gilgamesh had vague forewarning of.

They found Beryl alright...and they found the being that had been sealed in the ice, awake and ready to devour planets.

Beryl tried to feed Sailor Moon and the Ginzuisho to Metallia.

Tried being the operative word.

Mashiro felt absolutely zero sympathy or pity for the hag when Gilgamesh drew his sword Ea and wiped them out in a single blast once Mashiro had successfully gotten out of the way. Not her problem if the Dark Generals were too slow to get the hell out of the way. Or if she happened to break Zoicite's legs when she was escaping, thus forcing Malachite to stay behind to protect his girlfriend.

The Senshi stared at the remains of the base of their enemy, dumbstruck that their long-standing battle had ended with a single attack. That their days of fighting had come to an end so abruptly.

At least, that was until Sailor Moon turned to them and said "You do realize I'm not letting up on your training until you're remotely competent, right?"

"What about our homework?" said Sailor Venus. She was _barely_ maintaining a 'C' average as it was!

"We'll meet up three times a week. The rest of the time is yours to do as you will until the next bad guy shows up. Fair?" she said simply.

The girls nodded.

"Wait...what do you mean until the next bad guy shows up?" said Sailor Mars.

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes.

"The transition between mortal to goddess is a long one, and unfortunately it draws beings capable of devouring planets like flies. And with these beings come idiots who follow them. For now enjoy your down time," explained Gilgamesh.

"So how are we going to fix all the damage Metallia did to the planet when she tried to eat Sailor Moon?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"Let me handle that," said Sailor Moon.

Princess Serenity's connection to the Ginzuisho was strong enough to undo the damage caused by Metallia and Beryl...but only to a certain extent. As a nice side effect of using the moon as an amplifier, the damage done by the attack had been fixed as well...and Queen Serenity's ghost had been forcibly purged.

Any respect Mashiro had for Queen Serenity had gone when she found out the real reason the three kingdoms had been destroyed. She barely tolerated Luna as it was.

If she was going to be a Queen and a Goddess, then she'd forge her own path.

Which was why she was going to enjoy her downtime with Gil by going on a proper (and long overdue) date.

It started out with going to a nice restaurant, seeing a movie both could agree with (Mashiro thought romantic comedies were okay, but she was a huge action fan), and finishing that with an absolutely massive ice cream.

They finished the date, simply holding hands in the park where Gilgamesh had funding an upgrade to the flora, much to the gardener's delight. Rare and exotic plants had been given special sections all over the park closest to the house where they could go and simply enjoy the view. Some of them had been exported from the remains of Babylon, and Mashiro had been very happy at the surprise Gilgamesh had personally installed.

He was a king. It was a simple matter to ensure the courtship of his chosen Queen went smoothly, and Mashiro loved flowers as much as Serenity had.

Some men might be put off by the fact that their chosen wife would one day become a full-fledged goddess, capable of bringing the dead back to life on a massive scale and outclassing them in terms of sheer power.

Gilgamesh was not most men. If he was to take a wife, she would have to at very least match him in almost every respect, and be absolutely loyal to him alone.

Being two-third god himself, he was not put off by having a full goddess as a wife.

Which was why he was about to start a nice make-out session with _his_ woman (he'd kill Endymion if he tried to take the Princess from him twice) he was not very happy with the rude surprise that was two objects colliding on them.

One was a ball in the shape of Luna's head (only much rounder) with an antenna bobbing about. It bounced once before floating up.

The second...and much heavier...object was a child.

The girl was roughly eight to nine years old, with bright pink hair and red eyes reminiscent of Gilgamesh's own. Her bangs curved much like Mashiro's did, except there wasn't an undercurrent of power coming from the brat.

But the one thing Gilgamesh honed in on rather quickly was the feeling of a familiar jewel that Mashiro had left at the house when they went on their date.

Mashiro was pretty damn irate, because they rarely had a chance to go out on a date and be _alone_ for any romantic moments to happen.

This was supposed to be their down time dammit! It had only been two freaking weeks since the Dark Kingdom had gotten wiped out by her boyfriend!

Mashiro glared at the pink-haired brat who dared to interrupt the end of their date.

The girl flinched for a moment, before she steeled herself for something.

"Hand over the Ginzuisho lady!" she demanded.

Mashiro could feel her head start to pound with a migraine.

"Great...our date was interrupted by a brat with a god-complex who thinks we actually care about her demands."

"Oh it gets even better. If that rock around her neck is what I think it is, I'm guessing she's the surprise Sailor Pluto warned me about," said Gilgamesh dryly, though he was just as happy as Mashiro was about the brat.

The girl stared at them both in disbelief.

"How do you know P-chan?" she said in shock.

"Sailor Pluto owes me," deadpanned Gilgamesh. "And I'm one of the few people from the time of the Moon Kingdom that actually REMEMBERS the place."

Mashiro hauled the brat up by the scruff of the neck.

"Alright chibi, what exactly was so important that you _had_ to interrupt our date?"

The girl squirmed, trying to get out of Mashiro's firm grip.

"Fine. Do you have a name?"

"Usagi Small Lady Serenity," she admitted.

Gilgamesh and Mashiro stared.

"That is one crappy name. You must have been teased beyond belief for having _that_ as a name," deadpanned Mashiro in sympathy.

Kiritsugu had been crap at names, but at least his sense was infinitely better than whoever had given this poor kid a name like that!

Sure, naming his second daughter "pure white" in reference to the fact she had been made a blank slate was a bit morbid, but it was still infinitely better than something as stupid as Small Lady.

Seeing genuine sympathy at her horrible name (and yes, she had been teased _extensively_ because of it, among other things) Small Lady tried to reach Luna-P. If only to hug her toy.

Gilgamesh eyes the kid...and when he failed to sense any of the power that would have come from being his child, he had an epiphany.

"Oh for the love of... So _that's_ what Pluto meant when she said that the future Queen Serenity set into motion was still active. You're Endymion's daughter aren't you?" he said in annoyance.

It explained her vague comment on how the fate of the one to come was in their hands.

The kid looked at Gilgamesh in shock.

"Gil?" questioned Mashiro.

"I'm guessing she's the child Queen Serenity saw in the Time Mirrors. Which means her very existence is highly unstable."

"Well we can't keep her at our house. Aside from the fact it's way too full already, there's no way I'm dealing with trying to get her to school on time," said Mashiro.

"There is another solution."

"...Go get the side-car hooked up. We're taking a trip to my parent's house," said Mashiro.

They had taken Mashiro's motorcycle because she so rarely had an excuse to use it.

* * *

Ikuko had been delighted to take in the kid. Who she promptly named "Chibiusa", because she quite agreed that giving a name like "Small Lady" was a horrible idea.

It just begged for the poor child to be harassed by others her age.

By this point the newly renamed Chibiusa (who refused to answer to her birth name from then on) had become thoroughly confused.

Her younger mother wasn't like the mother she knew. At all.

Neo Queen Serenity was kind, aloof, and every bit a lady.

Mashiro was blunt, gentle, and not afraid to be a tomboy. She was also in a much better school.

Chibiusa had certain memories deliberately blocked by Pluto the instant she went through the Time Gate to avoid paradoxes.

Memories like monsters she knew would appear, or where they would come from. She remembered some things, like her mother's Grail, but names, dates and places were out of her reach.

But the most confusing thing was that when Mashiro told her mother that Chibiusa was from the future and would need a place to live while they figured out what the heck was going on... her grandmother believed her. And didn't question the fact that her mother and her boyfriend (who was NOT her father) lived together.

This would be explained when Chibiusa finally went to stay with Mashiro two weeks after landing in the past.

There was also the somewhat _small_ matter of a boy she didn't recognize living right next to her uncle's room, or that her grandmother apparently treated him like a son.

It would take some time before Chibiusa's head stopped spinning from the information overload. Thankfully she was given what was originally her mother's room.

* * *

Chibiusa was sitting at the table with perfect posture and manners as she tried to digest the realization this might not be the past she knew.

"So when you were seven, you got caught in the tail end of a nasty war between magic users that wiped out five hundred others in a fire. Because you were in a different hospital from the one 'Shirou' was in, and no one was able to search for a single girl considering the lack of resources after the fire, you were presumed dead when in fact you were adopted by the mage who started the blaze in the first place. Ten years later you accidentally summon your boyfriend in your past life, who also happens to be the first true hero in existence. Because of the war you were forced to change schools, unlocked a large chunk of the Ginzuisho's power...and accidentally reconnected with your mother," said Chibiusa slowly.

Mashiro nodded, happily drinking her shake.

Chibiusa took a large bite of her sundae.

"I really wish I looked old enough to drink," she admitted. She was nine hundred years old. Unfortunately she looked a hundredth of her actual age. As such, she couldn't legally drink here, even though she had been allowed a single glass of wine during meals back home...at least before the attack. Apparently wine wasn't really considered alcohol to nobles.

"If you think that's bad, the reason why Queen Serenity practically forced her daughter to 'fall' for Endymion was because she saw twins in the other future."

Chibiusa made a face.

She had been taught to respect her grandmother by Luna...but after being given a different perspective (and facts she hadn't known the first time around) she was having trouble believing the stories Luna told her.

Chibiusa had become a fan of history partly because of being told all those stories about Sailor Moon, but also because of Sailor Pluto. She knew history was written by the victor, but she preferred to back up what she read by asking Pluto politely if she could borrow the time mirrors to the past. Or simply asking her.

As such, she was not happy that she had been lied to.

Mashiro's eyes glinted.

"I can get you a single shot glass of real alcohol and not wine once we're at my house. You're not getting drunk though."

"Deal," deadpanned Chibiusa.

Chibiusa had to admit...she liked this version of her mother so much more than she did Neo Queen Serenity.

Her mother...was very aloof.

Had anyone bothered to get to know Chibiusa, they would have noticed a marked change in her personality the moment her confusion threw off her plans to steal the Ginzuisho and save her mother.

She was quickly transitioning from a bratty little girl who hadn't been given much affection growing up to a sarcastic and blunt child who was very much confused and lost.

That wasn't to say she still had plans for the crystal. After realizing this wasn't her past, and seeing how very much Gilgamesh loved her mother, she had realized that the odds of her succeeding in stealing the rock were next to nill.

The thing was...Chibiusa didn't want to set her future back on track. It wasn't that she hated Crystal Tokyo, far from it. It was her home.

It had everything to do with the way people looked at her mother, from those that fought with her to those that saw her as something other than their future queen.

The Senshi _respected_ her, and actually trained their powers so they weren't reliant on the transformation pens, which even in her time took decades for them to figure out. Even the Outers treated her as someone who knew what they were doing and would follow her orders.

In her time, Uranus and Neptune had barely tolerated her mother outside of their vows to the royal family. They didn't visit very often.

And Gilgamesh...he looked at her mother with an expression she had never seen before. Not even in her father, who had fought alongside Sailor Moon when she was still learning how to fight.

King Endymion didn't look at Neo Queen Serenity with the same absolute love and devotion that Gilgamesh looked at Mashiro. And she had the feeling Gilgamesh wouldn't resort to throwing fancy roses at people to distract them.

He'd take out the threat permanently.

Then there was the people.

Chibiusa had never really noticed it, but the people around her were more...alive. More real. Sure, there were fights, crimes and bad things happening, but there was a vibrant sense of _life_ that bothered her.

It wasn't until she mentally compared it to home that she realized what.

Crystal Tokyo was a peaceful utopia, where crime was relatively missing, murder was treated to the harshest extent of the law...and where there was a distinct lack of fire in the people.

The closest thing they had to criminals was the Black Moon family, and her mother had banished them to a dead planet for daring to cause trouble!

Shivering, Chibiusa began to wonder if there wasn't something very, very wrong about Crystal Tokyo deep beneath the surface.


	16. Chapter 16

Chibiusa found herself on the odd end of a cosplay-addicted Illyasviel (who was Mashiro's sister here, which made her an aunt, along with an Aunt Arturia, Aunt Sakura, and an illusive Aunt Rin who was currently in a magical prank war against Rei Hino during school hours) and had to be rescued by an overly amused Hotaru Tomoe.

A girl who had been forcibly purged during the restoration of the planet of a particularly nasty parasite that called itself "Mistress 9" by a very vindictive Arturia, Illyasviel and Sakura.

Parasite from outside the galaxy or not, there was no way it was able to defend itself from Illya and her ability to transfer souls into dolls. Add in the fact that Arturia had gleefully used Excalibur to annihilate the monstrosity while Sakura had quickly moved Hotaru far, far from the area to prevent the parasite from reattaching herself to the girl...well... the thing had been boned the second Hotaru reacted to the light of the Ginzuisho while in Illya's presence.

Kaoli Knight had been more than happy to rid herself of Hotaru the moment Mashiro had made her stance clear...and the professor had been too deep in an experiment to notice the fact that Hotaru had moved out of the house.

As a side effect of the purge, along with judicious use of the Ginzuisho, Hotaru had been given a fully functioning body free of cybernetic implants.

Needless to say Gilgamesh had given Mashiro a practically unlimited credit card and the trio (consisting of Illya, Mashiro and an unresisting Hotaru) had splurged on a new wardrobe for the girl.

Gilgamesh had been investing left and right soon after being properly reborn into the world, and was now rolling in the dough thanks to his Golden Rule.

The only reason Mashiro didn't have a similar ability was because she had developed something else.

The Rule of the Benevolent Goddess. Once she activated that (a perk of having skipped using the original compact to contain the Ginzuisho and making a new one) her power got a massive boost and her word became absolute. While it meant she wouldn't be able to make obscene amounts of money simply by taking an interest and investing, it did mean that she had a higher chance than normal of turning enemies into allies if there was even a hope of getting through to them.

The only reason she hadn't used it on Beryl or her generals was because Gilgamesh had told her that the idiots who kept spawning the weekly sacrifices...er, youma...were originally the generals under Prince Endymion.

Generals that had chosen to attack their ally without provocation under the orders of a woman they had absolutely no reason to follow and who murdered their prince.

Simply attacking the court with all the Inner Court stuck in a confined place would have been enough to wipe out the place.

By betrayed Endymion, they had given Beryl a stronger front with which to kill them all.

And for that betrayal, Mashiro had decided they weren't worth saving.

It had been a full month since Chibiusa had appeared (Gilgamesh and Mashiro finally had a full and proper date with no interruptions) and for the most part things seemed to calm down.

Then a monster appeared, and Mashiro sighed.

It looked like someone had followed Chibiusa's trail, and were determined to get her back. The only reason they could think of for why it took so long was because of the confused time streams.

Unfortunately for the new bad guy of the week, he had picked the worst time imaginable to go after "Rabbit".

He picked the one day of the month when the girls went to get pampered, and in the middle of their shopping.

The new sacrifice was annihilated within seconds courtesy of an irate Mashiro bringing out her bow and the mask that obscured her identity.

Once they finished their Girl's Day Out, Mashiro hit the Senshi phone tree.

Needless to say the others weren't too happy. But at least this time they had advanced warning and some decent training under their belts.

Rei in particular had become a powerhouse in her own right because she had successfully learned how to shoot a bow made of fire while training under Mashiro personally. The archery team was already making noise about bringing her in as a new member.

Minako was already putting her 'Love Me Chain' to better use. Originally it was created to capture and basically use like one would a rope. Now she could use it more like a whip...and somewhere inside Minako a switch had been flipped, revealing a dominatrix side the girl hadn't realized she'd had to begin with.

Makoto also had some new tricks, mostly by copying the _Naruto_ series. It had taken her weeks of practicing, but she had more or less learned how to mimic the Chidori and Raikiri attacks. She had also gotten hooked on the series, and if given the chance would absolutely ask Kakashi out. She was still having trouble using her wood attacks, primarily because unlike the First Hokage, she couldn't create the element out of nothing.

Ami had gone from the 'weakest' of the Senshi to a devastating powerhouse. Like Makoto she copied the _Naruto_ series, specifically Haku, Zabuza, and any water attacks she could. The Otaku in Mashiro had a fangasm when Ami successfully managed to copy the Water Dragon Bullet. The fact that she was actually learning how to throw ice senbon and become a medic was just a bonus. She was already learning how to adjust light and shadow to make illusions using the first spell she learned as a Senshi...which ironically enough meant she never had to recreate the mist Zabuza had created to disorient his enemies before he killed them.

After realizing Hotaru was quite possibly Sailor Saturn (and thus had powers far too destructive to release during cheap fights against the weekly sacrifices, as Mashiro called them) they went another route.

They trained up Hotaru's healing ability, while putting her into a weapons class that allowed her to learn how to use a naginata...which was the closest they could get to the odd-shaped scythe Sailor Saturn used.

Haruka and Michiru had been offered different lessons.

Michiru's power lay in the waves and the oceans. And since her artifact was a mirror (according to Gil), Mashiro had her signed up for scrying, with Rei learning with her since she could divine things in fire. She certainly didn't object to the dance lessons.

Haruka, on the other hand, had taken to sparring regularly with Arturia with a copy of her actual sword. Minako, despite being a bit of a ditz, had joined in these sessions with a copy of the crystal sword they had taken from the Moon Kingdom.

And in the two months they'd had of relative peace before the next baddie showed up, apparently following the heels of Mashiro's future daughter, they'd quickly grown competent under the tutelage of people who knew what they were doing.

Even if Rin and Rei had slowly started the process of going from annoyed rivals to best friends. It wasn't that they hated each other, far from it. They just pushed each other's buttons...and much like Issei had back home, Rei recognized that Rin's "perfect student" persona at school just hid the viperous Tsundere Magus that lay underneath.

The fact she had been the one to teach Rei the basics of magecraft after figuring out she was Sailor Mars meant Medusa and her sisters had the amusing sideshow of watching the two fall for each other.

Because there was a secondary reason for why Rei had insisted on going to an 'all-girls' school and rarely chased after boys. She might talk about them, but she was quicker to find faults than she was good traits.

As long as her leader and future Queen didn't have a problem with Rei being a lesbian (and Mashiro had picked up on that pretty quick considering she was bi herself) then Rei wasn't going to care about it.

Hell, it gave her something to talk about with Mashiro. She certainly found it amusing that Rei had a crush on Rin. And Mashiro was pretty sure Minako and Makoto were in love with Shirou!

So when the newest batch of evil monsters made their appearance, the people of Jyuban found a sudden shift in the way the Senshi fought.

For the first time since their appearance and the sudden lull in monster attacks, when they fought it was with competence. The fighters in the city watched with approval and among the forms Shirou handed out stating they understood the danger and were willing to put their own safety on the line to be observers, there were now critique forms. The Senshi _wanted_ to be better, to not be a complete embarrassment. They wanted to at the very least stand side by side with the Outer Court and not be in the way.

To announce with pride that they were Sailor Senshi, and have it mean more than a bunch of girls in frilly sailor uniforms that just happened to use something like magic.

Luna was appalled, as she had evidently believed herself to be the matronly guardian of the Courts. A fact that was further clarified by the fact that most of Chibiusa's previous attitude was due to more or less having Luna act as her primary babysitter when she was old enough.

Being stuck with such a stuffy female that enforced her lessons on being a 'proper princess of the court' with a slap of the tail or paw hadn't exactly equaled a fun childhood.

And half the time the Senshi were too busy as diplomats, and her mother was too busy being a queen to be with her.

With the realization she could relax, a lot of the stuffy protocol and bratty attitude dropped. Underneath her childish and angry exterior was a sarcastic girl who just wanted to spend more time with her parents and know they did love her and wanted to put her first.

Pretty much like any other child of rich and powerful parents who were too busy to spend time with their kids and were stuck being raised by nannies.

The Black Moon Clan was in for a nasty surprise when they made their appearance.

* * *

Mashiro ate another cream puff, sharing the plate with Chibiusa who spent half her weekends with her mother. She loved Ikuko and her home, but she wanted to spend time with _her_ mother and not her grandmother.

A grandmother who had more or less be delegated to the wayside shortly after Neo Queen Serenity had her daughter and became Queen. A grandmother she had only ever heard about in passing.

A grandmother who obviously would had been happy to raise her granddaughter for her daughter who had no idea how to be a mother and a queen at the same time, had someone asked.

If and when she went back to her time, she was going to ask some hard questions of her father about why she had to meet her grandmother in the past and not in her own time. She would have asked her mother, but since Neo Queen Serenity wasn't available, Endymion was going to have a rather angry daughter to answer to.

It had been funny really. When they tried to teach Chibiusa attack magic, it either failed spectacularly or was far too weak to be more than a distraction. They tried teaching her weapons, but the closest they could find to something offensive was a fan, and even that was going to be awkward until she was a bit taller and had some decent training behind her.

Illya had despaired until Rei had tried teaching Chibiusa some non-offensive magic. Things like paper barriers.

And she turned out to be GOOD at it.

Realizing there might be a connection, Gilgamesh taught her something that would provide a strong defensive shield. And she got it right on the second try, with a defense strong enough to handle an arrow from Mashiro.

That was when they realized what Chibiusa lacked in attack strength, since she was unable to use the Ginzuisho of her time _at all_ , she made up for in defensive and support power. She had trouble with healing spells, but that was mostly because her connection to the bauble around her neck was blocked for some unknown reason. But she _could_ use the lower ones.

Mashiro promptly put Chibiusa in classes to become a support and defense specialist, with the potential to be the team healer.

Just because there wasn't much they could teach in terms of magecraft didn't meant that they were solely limited in magic. There were plenty of magical classes if you knew where to look. And thanks to Rei and Michiru, they now had a plethora in teachers who were more than happy to help for payment.

At least Chibiusa wasn't entirely useless.

And so Chibiusa happily claimed her mother's lap as they watched the latest anime and relaxed, enjoying the bonding time. The fact Illya claimed Mashiro's other side, while absentmindedly rubbing Chibiusa's back and almost making her fall asleep had nothing to do with it. She _liked_ this place. She felt safe and loved and happy in a way she never had in that cold palace, except for the _rare_ times her mother bothered to give her complete attention to spending time with her daughter.

And those had been few and far between.

Gilgamesh came in with another round of snacks, and outside of a kiss to Mashiro didn't say much.

It was funny really. Chibiusa was Endymion's daughter, yet she looked more like the child of Mashiro and Gilgamesh, just with Queen Serenity's hair coloring, Gilgamesh's eyes with Mashiro's facial features.

Nothing about her said she was related to Endymion outside of him claiming her as his child...which was one of the things the children in her time had teased her about.

She was nine hundred, and not once had been been given the symbol of the royal bloodline and she looked nothing liked her father, so she didn't have his abilities either. She was the child of the King and Queen, and she was a burden.

She had _hated_ it.

She didn't know when she had fallen asleep on Mashiro's lap, all she knew was that Mashiro had plopped her daughter in the middle of her bed with Sakura before going to sleep herself. She was sleeping in the same bed as three others, and she felt happy.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chibiusa is NOT Gilgamesh's daughter. She is still Endymion's...only in blood though.**

* * *

Rubeus was not in a good mood. Not only were the Senshi more competent than he realized, but they were using attacks he had never seen before.

And they had gone through all the historical recordings over and over to insure they could handle the Senshi. The only danger was Sailor Moon, and she had most relied on the other four to weaken the monster first.

Instead, their attempts to take out the Senshi one by one not only failed, they failed so spectacularly that it wasn't even FUNNY.

The only reason he hadn't been killed for repeated failures was because it was abundantly clear something was off about the Sailor Senshi. Yet this was the past they had followed Rabbit to.

So they mostly threw disposable monsters at them until they could figure out what the hell was going on.

"Wait...we can actually go into the future?" said Minako shocked.

"Not your future, obviously, but the one where I came from originally. I think there's a reason P-chan hasn't yelled at me through Luna P yet about stealing that key," said Chibiusa frowning.

Sailor Pluto was nice, but even she would be angry at Chibiusa for stealing a time key without permission. And her mother had hooked Chibiusa's toy to one of the mirrors years ago when her interest in the past became apparent.

She could watch old 'videos' of past events unfiltered from her room after her studies were done, so long as she had Sailor Pluto's permission first.

Pluto didn't mind, but some events were blocked for a specific reason.

It was one of the few things that told Chibiusa her mother did love her. Endymion and Luna hadn't been too pleased, saying Chibiusa was too 'gentle' and 'young' to watch some of the more graphic moments in history, but they had been overruled by her mother.

"So we're going to the Crystal Tokyo Queen Serenity tried to set into motion?" asked Ami.

"The one where Endymion is the king," said Chibiusa sourly.

Sure, Gilgamesh was arrogant, but he was still nicer and more royal than her own father.

"Should we bring Mamoru?" asked Rei unsure.

"You really want to encourage that ass?" asked Minako sourly.

Mamoru had become more and more erratic since the destruction of the Negaverse. He really, really didn't like the fact he was being delegated to the side lines as the girls became more competent with proper training, and even when offered the chance to become stronger he made it abundantly clear he disliked being overpowered by the girls when it came to ability and power.

In the words of Rei, who was now very glad that their date had never taken off from the start, he was a chauvinist pig who clearly believed women should be delegated to house work and not fighting.

And he didn't even _have_ the excuse of being raised that way, as Mamoru's main reason for fighting was to find the princess and get his lost memories back from the accident. No, this was entirely Endymion's influence.

No wonder Gilgamesh had such a low opinion of him.

After they had the rose-tinted glasses ripped off when they realized he actually _resented_ them because they no longer needed his admittedly weak distractions, they started to remember other instances where he was less than pleasant to be around.

As a result of that, Tuxedo Mask had slowly been pushed out of the group, and not welcomed back.

Shirou honestly would rather have to deal with Gilgamesh's snide comments and arrogant attitude than Mamoru's caustic personality, once it had been revealed.

It would be interesting to see how Endymion dealt with being confronted by a real king.

Considering how Queen Serenity reacted to his presence, it was sure to be fun.

Chibiusa couldn't wait to see Sailor Moon literally rip her father to shreds.

"So how do we do this?" asked Makoto.

"First we get anyone who wants to come, but we should leave someone behind in case the Black Moon clan tries something."

"I'll stay behind," offered Shirou.

"So will we," said Haruka. Michiru and Hotaru nodded.

"Well I'm going!" said Illya firmly.

"I'll stay behind," said Sakura.

"So that leaves five to defend the city, and seven going," said Chibiusa.

"I'm going," said Luna firmly.

"I'll go as well," said Artemis.

"Okay, so nine are going," amended Chibiusa.

"Rin and the Gorgon trio are staying behind as well," said Rei after she called her sort-of girlfriend.

After Mashiro had it with them dancing around each other, and Rin had been quick to defend Rei when she was attacked, she had gotten them both drunk and they had ended up in bed together.

They had a talk, and now they were both tentatively trying out the relationship angle.

"So nine are staying."

"Arturia said she might come, but Ven firmly said he wasn't going."

"That makes it an even ten staying and going," said Chibiusa. She wasn't counting herself in the 'going' group, because she fell into the 'returning' category.

It took a few days to settle everything, but once they did, they gathered in the park Gilgamesh funded as Chibiusa spoke the incantation she had drummed into her head by Pluto years ago.

With a beam of magical light, the large group vanished.

* * *

Chibiusa ran to Sailor Pluto and practically tackled her into a hug. She had missed her first and true friend.

"P-chan!"

"I see you've found your way, little bunny," said Pluto warmly. She looked at the assembled group with a calm gaze. "Thank you for taking care of this little one."

"It was our pleasure, once she dropped the mask she had around her," Mashiro said honestly.

Pluto said nothing, but she was in agreement. Chibiusa had put up a lot of barriers around her just to keep her 'family' happy. She was much better off in the past than she was in the future she had come from.

Even if her existence was up in the air at the moment.

"Know that the future you enter will be closed once the Black Moon clan is dealt with. Please, try not to cause too many ripples," she said.

"We'll keep that in mind. Can I still kick Endymion in the balls if he pisses me off?" asked Mashiro.

"Do I look like I care?" asked Pluto blandly. King Endymion was handsome, but when he was allowed to be himself he was an _ass._ Pluto had outgrown her girlhood crush on the man years ago, for a very good reason.

Mashiro's grin was vicious.

* * *

Crystal Tokyo was...well to be blunt it was a bit of a dump. But when they came close to the pulsating black crystals the reason became pretty obvious.

The entire city seemed to be fighting off an attack between 'idealized Utopian kingdom' and 'absolute destruction'.

What little Chibiusa had let slip of her home had left Mashiro and Gilgamesh frowning.

From the sounds of it, Neo Queen Serenity had more or less _forced_ peace down the throats of her people, with little regard to how they felt about the matter. And the children who were born after had become indoctrinated to accept this society was the perfect one, with one or two glaring exceptions.

Chibiusa had mentioned that anyone stupid enough to talk too loud about being _dissatisfied_ about the way things were either went missing, or were banished publicly.

Which did somewhat explain were some of the minions that followed all those that tried to off the Senshi and used disposable monsters came from.

And when they ran into the fake palace, Gilgamesh was quick to wipe out the morons trying to harass them.

They walked into the real one...and were greeted by Endymion himself. Looking very regal in a sunset colored cloak and fancy outfit.

The 'extras' went exploring out of sight...right up until Sailor Moon got a good look at her 'future' self.

"So just to be clear, she ran outside the palace and was hit full force with whatever nearly wiped out the city. Yet for some reason she was unable to defend against the attack directly and fell into a forced coma," asked Sailor Moon.

" _The Queen's connection to the Ginzuisho was weakened greatly after Small Lady was born. We had hopes she would awaken as the next Sailor Moon, but so far her powers seem dormant,"_ said Endymion.

Unseen by the king, Chibiusa bristled. It was one of the silent disappointments Endymion had in his daughter that were left unspoken, but still implied whenever she displeased him.

Diana, her 'adviser' and friend, looked at her princess with confusion.

"Uh-huh. And none of you bothered to train your powers outside of the almost weekly attacks on yourself when she still had them?" asked Sailor Moon dispassionately.

" _We barely had time to ourselves as it was,"_ said Endymion, not seeing why she had to ask.

Behind him, Chibiusa's eyes sparkled as she eagerly awaited Sailor Moon to rip her father a new one for his actions...or inaction as the case may be...in causing this mess.

"And how long did it take for the other nations of Earth to accept your 'claim' as the true rulers of the planet?" asked Sailor Moon calmly.

" _Some were...reluctant...to accept us. But eventually they saw reason."_

"They 'saw' reason, or were forced to accept you?" snapped Sailor Moon.

Endymion's eyes widened in surprise at her tone and the question.

" _What?"_

"What did you find, Mercury?" asked Sailor Moon, ignoring his question.

"According to the records I was able to hack, any country that refused to accept their rule were quietly annihilated and forgotten about, and those that did were forced to behave in a certain manner. Any that didn't were...disposed...of or banished. And when those that remembered how the world was before died off, their children were brainwashed into behaving or else. It seems that the first records of people living longer than they should were after the first two hundred years of their rule coming into being," she said angrily.

Sailor Moon looked at Endymion in the eye, her eyes flashing with clear rage.

"In other words this so-called 'Utopia' is nothing more than a sham held together by lies and force."

Endymion had no idea how to react. Sailor Moon should have been overwhelmed with the idea of a Utopia she had brought into being...not rip apart the reason for it at the seams and look absolutely disgusted with the idea. Then he saw someone who shouldn't be there. Someone who had died so long ago, he shouldn't even exist.

Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk.

" _You? What are YOU doing here?"_ said Endymion in horrified shock.

"Claiming what should have been mine in the first place, you pathetic poser," smirked Gilgamesh.

" _You were alive! I know the Queen never included you in the spell to resurrect the others!"_ protested Endymion, fury clear in his voice.

"There are other ways to be resurrected. And look at the mess you've created when you took what is mine. A fake kingdom for a fake king. How...perfectly pathetic," sneered Gilgamesh.

Endymion was absolutely pissed, and it showed.

Chibiusa was eating popcorn by the handful with an amused Illya and Arturia.

"I must admit, it's nice he isn't chasing after me anymore," deadpanned Arturia.

Endymion finally noticed the extras.

" _And who are you people?"_ he demanded, his 'royal' demeanor shattered by the shock of Gilgamesh's presence next to Sailor Moon.

"My name, _peasant_ , is King Arthur of England," said Arturia, her hand on her sword and her armor appearing as if preparing for a fight. The very air around her was regal in a way Endymion had tried for years to imitate, but failed spectacularly.

This was a _king_ in truth, and there was no way Endymion could deny it.

Just because one had royal blood and a title didn't make you a king. And as much as Endymion tried to play at it, he was nothing more than a liar.

With their business concluded, most of them treated Endymion for what he was. A particularly pissed off ghost.

Diana was absolutely confused at this point.

* * *

Diamond's first look at Sailor Moon reignited his lust for her future self. The same lust that had gotten him banished in the first place.

Never mind that the Queen had been more than game for it, when the king finally learned of the affair he had banished Diamond and his entire family to Nemesis as punishment.

Everything about Crystal Tokyo was a lie, from the 'love' between the King and his wife, to the society itself. Underneath everything was the undercurrent of quiet resentment.

Most of it aimed at the King, because the Queen seemed to be little more than a figurehead. Well that and she still had a heart.

But something seemed different in this version of his beloved Queen.

If he had to put a finger on it, he would have to say she looked like she had more of a spine to her.

What the hell had happened to his Serenity that she married Endymion in the first place?


	18. Chapter 18

Chibiusa had brought everyone back...but when Mashiro and the Senshi followed her to the future a second time, both Chibiusa and Mashiro had been kidnapped.

Gilgamesh was not pleased.

Chibiusa had run away after having a loud argument with Endymion, mostly because she had confronted him about the fact that he barely tolerated his daughter, and didn't love her.

Endymion, furious about Gilgamesh being so close to HIS queen, had said the cold hard truth Chibiusa had always tried to deny and pretend wasn't there.

Endymion only had "Small Lady" in order to keep his title as king, not because he WANTED a daughter in the first place. Luna might have usurped him if he hadn't given the Queen an heir to the rock that made him practically immortal in the first place.

Chibiusa had left the palace in tears, clutching Luna P like a lifeline while fleeing through the Time Gate. Pluto had been furious.

And Sailor Moon...she had been captured while trying to find Chibiusa.

Needless to say, it was a mess all around.

Chibiusa's tears were still falling as she became lost in the dark of time and space. It was there she was found by Wiseman, the mysterious force behind the Black Moon clan and the one pulling the strings.

It took very little convincing for the wayward princess to follow him, considering she really needed a sympathetic shoulder to cry on after what her father had said to her face.

Wiseman subtly tried to subvert her and her claim on the Ginzuisho by inundating her with images that only made her pain worse.

Memories of how the Senshi saw her as a bother, of how her parents rarely cared about her except for the rare times her mother paid her any attention...

She slowly slipped into a dark place.

* * *

When Mashiro woke up, she found her compact missing and she was wearing a rather regal, if highly impractical dress.

If she found out someone had redressed her there were going to be _words_ and someone was going to be given one hell of a concussion from her ladle.

When she saw the man who had kidnapped her using a Mystic Eye similar to the one Illya had, her expression changed to confusion.

She played herself off as a ditz right up until he tried to kiss her.

Then she damn near broke his jaw with a vicious right hook.

Mashiro glared at him.

"No one but Gil is allowed to kiss me," she snarled.

"Gil?" he repeated dumbly.

Mashiro narrowed her eyes at him, sudden comprehension coming to her.

"Let me guess. You had an affair with the Queen before that ass Endymion found out and got rid of you," she asked flatly.

Diamond slowly nodded.

Mashiro pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Honestly I have no idea why the hell Queen Serenity thought he was worthy of her daughter in the first place. Or why the princess even remotely had feelings for that prick."

Diamond focused on her words with laser sharp intensity.

"You're not in love with Endymion?"

"I'm a Valkyrie and he's a chauvinistic ass who can't handle the idea of being outclassed by a girl. Why on earth would I even _like_ him, let alone marry him? I could barely tolerate him back when he was still working with us," she said flatly.

This wasn't the Dark Ages, and a woman's right to stand side-by-side with men in battle had grown considerably since the Moon Kingdom was taken out. Gender equality had taken massive strides since Endymion's time, and she wouldn't stand for the idea that a woman should only be in control of the home and the children when she could fight.

Diamond had no idea how to react to this Serenity, and it showed.

"Now, where is Chibiusa?"

"Who?"

"Rabbit," she clarified.

"I have no idea," he admitted. His shock was throwing him off, and Mashiro had long since activated her ability to turn enemies into allies.

It wasn't his fault the King was an ass. Though she could hardly blame him for reacting the way he had.

Mashiro confronted the others of the Black Moon clan, outside of Wiseman who was absent.

Sapphire seemed to be surprised that this Sailor Moon was so much more reasonable than her future self...and that she didn't take it personally that they had been attacking her and her colleagues.

Far from it...she blamed Endymion for the entire thing, to their amusement.

She was willing to give them amnesty and a second chance, provided they could put an end to this black crystal nonsense...and Diamond agreed to quit trying to date her.

It didn't exactly help Sapphire's amusement when she produced such a large, heavy ladle from out of nowhere and tried to brain his brother with it when he tried to get another kiss.

* * *

Inside the dark area, Chibiusa's mind was starting to fray as she was on the verge of a dark transformation.

Then her eyes opened and caught something on her wrist that had been more or less forgotten...and a voice she could swear she recognize but didn't know why spoke up.

 _You are not useless._

Four simple words. That combined with the innocuous bracelet that had been a gift from Mashiro, Illya and Hotaru as part of her 'inclusion' to their Otaku and Cosplay lifestyle reminded Chibiusa that she was loved.

That someone DID want her and accepted her for who she truly was and not who they wanted her to be.

Something inside her snapped into place, as the air seemed to lighten around her.

"I AM NOT HIS DAUGHTER!"

With that, any tentative relationship she might have had with Endymion shattered. Chibiusa was her mother's daughter, but from that point she would never acknowledge Endymion as her father.

The light seemed to turn into a golden color, and Chibiusa felt the power long denied as her birthright.

Like Mashiro, she had no compact to contain the power of the Ginzuisho. And after spending time with her and the others, she had come to realize that the compact itself was designed to hold her back.

 _MOON CRISIS MAKE UP!_

Power flooded Chibiusa from the Ginzuisho, now that it had finally acknowledged her as worthy.

She could feel it overwhelming whatever Wiseman had tried to do, and something else click into place around her.

Her uniform was dark pink, but it was pretty obvious she had skipped several stages and gone straight to Super Sailor form.

The thing was she had no idea what her title should be.

That was when she got the surprise of her life.

"It's about time, imouto!" said a cheerful voice.

"Yeah! Let's kick this creep back where it belongs!" said another, almost identical to the first.

"Who's there?!" demanded Wiseman.

"From the outer reaches of space, eclipsing the stars themselves in strength!"

"From the beyond the stars, burning brighter than even a super nova!"

The light dimmed down enough that Chibiusa could see the speakers.

They were practically identical save for their hair styles. Instead of the usual tiara, they had a single golden circlet with a star. Both had long blond hair the same shade as Sailor Moon, only their eyes were like liquid gold.

"We will punish all who threaten our family and friends!"

The one on the right, with a long ponytail spoke first.

"I am Super Sailor Eclipse Star!"

The other with the twin ponytails and ribbons introduced herself next.

"I am Super Sailor Eclipse Sun!"

Chibiusa took her queue, realizing she was next. And she had the perfect idea of what to call herself.

"I am Super Sailor Eclipse Moon!"

The two blonds looked at her proudly, glad she had taken the hint. Chibiusa...no, this was Super Sailor Eclipse Moon, ran to take her spot beside them.

"And we are the Eclipse Senshi!" they proudly declared as one voice.

Wiseman screamed as the purifying light of the three eclipsed what little protection he had in that place. He was forced to release it in order to flee.

* * *

Mashiro and the Black Moon clan were almost thrown to the floor as a massive wave of power and light ripped through the core of the Black Maleficent crystal.

"What's going on?" demanded Diamond.

Sapphire ran to the first computer he found.

"There's a massive reaction of power around the central core! The containment field is trying to hold it in, but at this rate it won't hold! We have to abandon the planet before it erupts!"

"Where?" said Diamond.

"The past!" shouted Mashiro. "You've been able to breach the past, so it stands to reason we can go there!"

"We can't! The reaction is blocking both the key you had and our own methods!" shouted Sapphire.

"To hell with that! I am not sticking around to die because of some containment breach! Follow me!" said Mashiro firmly.

She hadn't exactly had much training in the Kaleidoscope, but she did know how to use it to get to places quickly.

She may or may not have overslept a few times and used it as a cheat to get to class.

Whatever was happening to the reactor didn't affect the Kaleidoscope magic she could use.

Needless to say they all breathed a sigh of relief when they landed.

Mashiro was more graceful at large groups than Pluto was apparently.

Her connection to the Ginzuisho restored, she was quick to change back into her Senshi uniform.

As nice as the dress was, it really wasn't her style at all.

"Sailor Moon!"

"Mashiro!" cried Gilgamesh, on the heels of the Senshi.

"What happened?" asked Illya.

"I don't know. I was working out details for them to fix the damage they caused here in the past, since there's no way they'd be allowed to stay in the future, when all of a sudden the reactor on Nemesis started having a core meltdown. And I still couldn't find Chibiusa!"

"I'm right here!" said a much happier voice.

Everyone turned...and stared.

Chibiusa was in her newly awakened Senshi form...and there were two others with her.

Two girls that Gilgamesh's instinctively realized were related to him in some form.

That relation was quickly clarified when the obvious twin girls practically tackled him with a cry of "Daddy!"

Mashiro's lip quirked upward in open amusement as she said "Daddy?"

"Hi mom," said the one with the ponytail.

"Sorry it took us so long before we showed up, but Pluto said we had to wait for Chibiusa to take over as the new Sailor Moon," said the pigtailed one with ribbons.

"That and she had to prove she was _our_ Chibiusa and not the bratty one that was Endymion's spawn through and through," added the first.

"Who are you two?"

The ponytailed one stood up with a grin and said "My name is Stella, also called Sailor Eclipse Star."

"And I'm her twin sister Solaris, but you can call me Sailor Eclipse Sun."

"And together with our baby sister, we're the Eclipse Senshi!" they declared.

"Eclipse Senshi?" repeated Luna. "Who came up with such a ridiculous name?"

"Aunt Illya did after we first started learning how to harness our powers and transformed."

"Mostly because our favorite little sister decided to name herself..." said Stella, letting Chibiusa introduce her senshi title.

"Sailor Eclipse Moon," said Chibiusa, standing next to her siblings with a big smile. She had aged two years at least, if not three.

Luna clearly didn't like that name one bit.

"Why Eclipse?" she demanded.

"Because our potential eclipses that of the other Senshi," said Solaris, as if talking to an idiot. Her attitude definitely emulated Gilgamesh in his King mode.

"And because it made it very clear to our sister's alternates that Chibiusa is not the useless brat she was in the original timeline," said Stella, shuddering.

Chibiusa shuddered. Now that her timeline was firmly attached to Mashiro's future, she really, really didn't want to be reminded of what she COULD have turned out like.

Joining her two older sisters and growing up a few years had given her a new set of memories. Or to be more precise, had added to the ones she already had.

Sailor Chibi Moon was an embarrassment as a Senshi, and even worse as a princess.

"I think I need a drink," said Gilgamesh.

"Agreed," said Diamond.

* * *

"So...if Chibiusa is still your half sister, then how was she born? I mean I don't see Mashiro cheating on her husband with Endymion," said Rei. They were all in Mashiro's house, eating pizza.

"Artificial insemination," said Stella.

"Mom agreed to bear his daughter after he tried to take the throne by force...after Chibiusa was born and it was clear he was never getting custody, Endymion tried to lead a rebellion," said Solaris.

"Tried, being the operative word. Prince Endymion was turned into less than meaty chunks courtesy of our dad."

"So what's Crystal Tokyo like?" asked Ami. After seeing how the one Queen Serenity had set into motion came into being, she was hoping the one they were going into was less horrifying.

"Hang on, I know I have the thing around here somewhere..." said Stella, reaching into her bag.

"I have it," said Solaris.

She pulled out what was clearly a holographic device.

She hit a specific button and music began playing from a hidden speaker.

There, standing on the device was a digital version of the three sisters. Each sister took a turn. First went Solaris, then Stella, and finally Chibiusa.

 _ **Welcome to Earth! Here in Crystal Tokyo you can enjoy all the modern comforts of home while experiencing the daily lives of those under the eternal rule of Queen Mashiro and King Gilgamesh.**_

 _We will be your guides on a lovely tour of our kingdom._

 **As well as your teachers in how this beautiful kingdom came into being, and how peace was finally attained after the original Moon Kingdom was destroyed.**

What proceeded was a standard informative tour of how Crystal Tokyo was formed, how the Queen and King had gone into all the independent countries and either conquered them, or made them into allies that agreed to follow their ruling.

The more militaristic states like North Korea weren't happy about it, but after Queen Mashiro gave them the option of maintaining their independence and they lost, they quit bitching about it quite so loudly.

Unlike Neo Queen Serenity, Mashiro didn't forcibly bring about peace by getting rid of all who disagreed with her policies.

She gave them the option of beating her in a straight out fight, with as many people as they liked. She never brought Gilgamesh in, because she felt that would be too much overkill.

If they managed to beat her, she would allow them to remain as they were and leave them alone. If they lost, they accepted her as their ruler and agreed to serve her.

Arturia smirked.

"Basically Mashiro decided to pull the same thing Iskander did when he was alive," she said.

"Pretty much," confirmed Stella amused.

"That and it allowed her to keep her fighting skills sharp," added Solaris.

"What of Endymion?" asked Luna, horrified.

"Hold on...here's that part of the tour," said Solaris, changing it to Chibiusa's avatar specifically. She handled the history sections.

 **In the year of the Crystal Moon 150, the Earth Prince Endymion rose up in rebellion against Queen Mashiro's reign stating that he was the true Ruler of Earth by birthright. He gathered up the loudest of the Queen's dissenters in an attempt to incite war against the Queen, who by this time had more or less conquered and gained total domination of the planet Earth.**

 **Endymion's Rebellion, as it came to be known, was considered the result of his resentment towards the queen for the fact that she had been born a mortal who would one day become a goddess and because of Queen Serenity's Folly.**

 **Queen Mashiro had attempted to placate the Prince and continue his line by bearing his daughter, Usagi Irisviel Emiya ten years earlier.**

 **However, when it became clear that Endymion would never had custody of his child, and that the Queen refused to honor the agreement that had been made in their previous life, he became enraged. Thus began the rebellion, which lasted for five long years.**

 **In the end, it was not the Queen who ended Endymion's rebellion, but the King who had grown tired of what he blatantly called "the prince's tantrum over losing". Endymion was killed by King Gilgamesh in a single attack, along with a decent portion of the attacking forces attempting to storm the castle. The remainder wisely surrendered and most were given the choice of amnesty in service to the Queen's Reserves, or banishment.**

 **All those who had committed heinous crimes while under Endymion's rule were executed without exception. The rest became part of the Queen's Reserves to serve out their sentence.**

"What's Queen Serenity's Folly?" asked Artemis.

 **Queen Serenity's Folly, also known as the End of the Fiftieth Reign of the Moon's Royal Family, also known as the End of the Three Kingdoms.**

 **Queen Serenity, unsure to which royal line she should allow her daughter to marry into to continue the bloodline, tricked the recently instated Guardian of Time and Child of Chronos, into allowing her to view the future to see the kingdoms that would come into being.**

 **When she discovered that Gilgamesh would result in twin daughters, while Endymion only had one child, she manipulated her daughter into visiting Endymion instead of Gilgamesh, thus creating the appearance that Princess Serenity loved Endymion more than the Golden King.**

 **Beryl who had been dating the Prince during the times Serenity was in her kingdom, became enraged when she heard of the Prince being engaged to a girl he barely tolerated and even resented. It was then that Beryl was approached by a follower of Metallia, and convinced into breaking the seal on the creature sealed in the icy region.**

 **In an effort to destroy the Queen and the Princess who dared to steal her lover, Beryl attacked on the day of the Princess' fifteenth birthday, wiping out the Moon Kingdom in a single night and ending the reign of Queen Serenity.**

 **Queen Serenity, in an effort to correct her mistake or to simply spare her daughter, used the last of her strength to forcibly reincarnate all those in the Inner Court and those loyal to her so that when her daughter reawakened, she would have a full court and her prospective fiancee nearby.**

Luna was not pleased that they called the destruction of the Moon Kingdom "Queen Serenity's Folly".

"Wait...if you're both the daughters of Queen, then which one of you inherited the Ginzuisho?" asked Artemis.

"Chibiusa did," said Solaris.

"Mom made it clear that we would have to decide between ourselves who would take her post as Sailor Moon and later on as the next Queen."

"But we grew sick of the royal court and having to play nice with the dignitaries years before mom had Chibiusa," said Solaris.

"So we let her have the crystal and we took the post as twin diplomats, which freed up the Outers to visit more often," said Stella.

"Hence why our Senshi names are Sun and Star. We exist beyond the Earth and spread the message of Crystal Tokyo past the Milky Way to the other galaxies. It also makes a better first impression, having a member of the Royal Family visit instead of the Outer Court," said Solaris.

Okay, even Luna had to concede it did present a stronger image that a Queen would send her own daughters instead of the Outer Courts to open up trade. It told the other party that she took them seriously, yet she trusted them with their safety and that she was genuinely interested in them.


	19. Chapter 19

In the end, the issue with Nemesis and the remains of Wiseman turned out to be a non issue.

Between Mashiro and the Eclipse sisters, the monster was wiped out before it had a chance to retaliate.

Chibiusa would have to return to 'her' Crystal Tokyo long enough to retrieve Diana...and to deliver the magic circle for summoning a Servant. Considering who she was, there was little doubt Neo Queen Serenity would summon Gilgamesh again.

After all, her love for him had been the original catalyst for Mashiro's summoning, overpowering even Avalon's presence.

The Crystal Tokyo she had come from was an absolute farce, and she wasn't going to let the lie of a Utopia continue.

She had the feeling it was only a matter of time anyway, once Neo Queen Serenity either found out or remembered what her 'husband' said to their daughter. She was just giving her mom a stronger front against the 'king'.

Neo Queen Serenity greeted her daughter warmly... before glaring at her husband.

Queen Serenity's geass on her daugher had broken the instant she woke up.

Endymion had no idea that his wife had been aware the entire time she had been inside that crystal...or that the moment she saw Gilgamesh, her true feelings had come forward in a rush.

Along with some memories Endymion would kill to keep buried.

Chibiusa happily hugged her mother, the one parent that she KNEW loved her more than anything.

* * *

With the sudden removal of the Black Maleficent crystals and the awakening of the Princess, people assumed things would go back to what had passed as normal for years. They were wrong.

It had started out with what had seemed the scandal of the century.

The Queen threw out the King from the Crystal Palace, which was the seat of her power. Then she removed any of his sympathizers from the court with brutal efficiency. Men who had served the royal family for generation upon generation.

King Endymion had been barred from ever coming within a single foot inside the palace, and the Inner Court gladly insured he never came back.

Some wondered at the change, before a startling revelation came to those that reported the 'news'.

People who spoke up against the Royal family were quietly escorted into the palace...and then allowed to leave of their own volition.

The reporters expected them to vanish within weeks, if not a month. They didn't. Instead they changed their ire from the Royal family in general to the King.

Then the next big shockwave happened.

The queen publicly _divorced_ Endymion, stating she no longer considered him her husband, or even a royal consort. He might be King, but he had no say in her kingdom.

Endymion was beyond furious, and moved to the other side of the world to consolidate his forces.

A few months after, Neo Queen Serenity publicly remarried to another King that had been in hiding...at least that was what the press assumed. This king was arrogant, but that arrogance came with a sort of respect from the Royal Guard.

King Gilgamesh at least had every right to be an arrogant bastard...he had the power to back up his words. And there was this aura around him that had been missing from King Endymion.

In the two years after King Endymion was thrown out, all of Crystal Tokyo seemed to have undergone an amazing transformation that left the people stunned.

Almost like they were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The very air in the kingdom had changed. From quietly oppressed and brainwashed to lively and thriving. It had become abundantly apparent that the King had slowly siphoned off the power of his wife without anyone noticing until it was far too late, and his roots had become entrenched.

In retrospect the only way to clean up the mess was to start with a clean break. Like kicking Endymion out of the castle and effectively banishing him from the kingdom.

Neo Queen Serenity wished she had noticed sooner.

"Momma, why didn't you throw him out before?" asked Chibiusa, who absolutely refused to go by the name Endymion had given her at birth while his wife was too out of it from painkillers.

Neo Queen Serenity...no, this was Usagi again, smiled sadly.

"I wish I had."

Usagi had looked back on when Endymion had started to erode her connections to outside the palace, and still shook her head on why she hadn't seen him for what he was sooner.

It had started with the disappearance of Naru and her family. She had searched for years to no avail, not even a _hint_ of where her friend had gone. Then one by one, all her friends from before she was ever Sailor Moon slowly began to disappear without a trace. Supposedly they had moved away, but by that time she had started to sink into a deep depression.

It had all culminated to the worst thing Endymion had done. Usagi had told her mother how the 'spark' between her and her husband simply wasn't there anymore, and how she was starting to regret marrying him. Her mother had suggested couple's counseling, but honestly she felt Usagi had married 'Mamoru' far too young. The more they talked about how her marriage was going and how perhaps they should try spending time apart, the more Usagi started to change her mind about Endymion.

Then, without any warning, her parents went missing. Usagi had exerted all of her power trying to find out what happened to them and her brother, but like before there wasn't a word.

Only this time she _did_ find out where they went.

She found her entire family murdered and torn into enough pieces that it made positively identifying them except through DNA impossible.

She was so upset she never even noticed how much work had begun to pile up. Official documents she HAD to sign, or dignitaries that she was obligated to meet.

Looking back on it all, she should have suspected her "husband" had something to do with it from the start. She had been forced to turn to Luna for motherly advice, and the Senshi had long figured out what was going on so they had been forced to keep quiet lest they disappear as well and Endymion tried to find replacements.

Had Chibiusa awakened sooner, and the new Inner and Outer courts formed, they had little doubt he _would_ have gotten rid of them.

Usagi had spent hours crying when she realized all the damage Endymion had caused because she had been too naive and innocent to understand the truth. It didn't help that Queen Serenity had more or less forced her to marry him thanks to the geass she had placed on those she reincarnated.

Just because it had looked like a perfect kingdom didn't mean her daughter would have been happy.

Chibiusa hugged her mother, letting Usagi cry over how she had spent the last thousand years trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who had done everything in his power to isolate his wife from the outside because her mother in a past life had been terrible at planning things through and hadn't done her homework.

The cats had been too relieved to find their missing princess and everyone had been far too excited about the entire prospect to actually think the situation through. It didn't help that the sheer number of attacks on the civilians had made it impossible for Usagi to see what her boyfriend was really like when he wasn't hiding his real self, as they had had only brief glances of romance and she had been too young and inexperienced to understand the expression in his eyes.

A fourteen year old pressured into a relationship with a man who had been old enough to have had multiple girlfriends, and who hadn't hesitated to use her in an effort to regain his lost memories regardless of what happened to her.

It was painful, and it hurt.

But then everything was exposed because her daughter fell into an alternate past and gave her mother her freedom.

Not only that, but she also gave her mother the strength to break out of an abusive relationship and start fresh with someone who had loved her from the start and didn't feel threatened by the fact she was essentially a goddess.

If Queen Serenity had been alive, or if Pluto would let her travel into the past, she wouldn't hesitate when she saw her. She would have bitch-slapped the queen, regardless of their relationship.

* * *

Chibiusa's return to the past coincided with the attacks on her mother's palace.

In order to insure her daughter was never exposed to real war, and so Endymion never had the chance to use her as a hostage or brainwash her against her mother, Usagi had Pluto time-lock Crystal Tokyo against her daughter and Diana.

Chibiusa had cried, but understood why she had done it. It was better for her to leave before she was dragged into what would end up being a senseless war because a king was furious his wife had dared to rise up against him.

She had little doubt Neo Queen Serenity would win. After all, she had the King of Heroes and his entire treasury behind her.

Stella and Solaris had accepted her return with open arms. They had more or less moved into Shirou's home with Ikuku and Shungo, having taken over what had been Chibiusa's room.

Like her mother, Chibiusa usually found herself snuggling up to her older sisters in the same bed. They didn't seem to mind, and as long as the peace was kept Ikuko stayed silent.

It would take her a full week before her depression lifted long enough for her to attend normal school, since it was clear she was going to be stuck in the past permanently, or at least long enough for it to seem that way.

And really, she had been able to skate by the whole school issue by hiding in Mashiro's house with Ven catching up on all the anime she had been forbidden by her father to watch.

The prick.

She still wasn't allowed to watch ANY of the DVDs in Gilgamesh's room that had the _Adult Only_ sticker, on the grounds that while she might be old enough to handle the information, she still didn't look old enough to find anyone who could legally do it with without them being arrested, no matter what her actual age was.

And frankly puberty hadn't actually set in anyway, so she had little interest in the subject. For now.

Mashiro had the distinct feeling Chibiusa would become a Class A pervert like Illyasviel was once she was old enough to appreciate those kind of movies. And since she was female, she'd get away with a hell of a lot more than most boys would.

* * *

"Is it just me, or are the headaches getting WORSE in that school?" complained Mashiro, her arms flat on the table with her head right on top of them.

"It's not just you," said Illya, grimacing.

"Don't you all look a joy to be around?" said Haruka, looking exhausted.

"What's wrong?"

"We've been having dreams lately. Dreams that keep repeating," explained Michiru with a pained wince.

"It can't be any worse than the nightmare I had last week," said Chibiusa, shuddering.

"What nightmare?" asked Illya, concerned.

"The one where Endymion murdered Pluto because she refused to let him use time as a weapon," said Chibiusa. She had tried contacting Sailor Pluto with Luna P, but there had been only static. And her usual method of seeing the past had been blocked, including the events long since unimportant like King Arturia's time and Robin Hood. Her eyes became haunted as she said "I can still remember the blood...there was so much of it..."

Stella and Solaris hugged their sister without hesitation. They all had that dream.

Michiru and Haruka were silent.

"So what sort of dreams have you two been having?"

"There's a woman with long dark green hair and red eyes telling us to find the Messiah who will stop the Silence. And that we need to awaken. Then roughly six days ago the dreams stopped without warning...before we both woke up as if we had a simultaneous nightmare about a man with a dawn colored cloak," said Haruka grimacing.

"The next morning after we saw him, both of us found these on our dresser table," said Michiru, putting what were clearly the transformation pens for the Outer Senshi on the table.

"So Gil was right. You two are Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune."

"We tried them out once. While we can handle the short skirts and sailor outfits, our magic was bound and we only had a single spell available," said Haruka annoyed.

"So even the Outer Court was restricted in power. I can help you transform without the pens, but you'll have to get used to being a little sloppy with your power output until you figure out how to adjust it."

"I can live with that," said Haruka.

"So can I," said Michiru.

"Coincidentally Rei wanted to know if she could double date with you two," said Mashiro with a straight face. "Apparently while she and Rin are able to handle being an on again, off again couple, she could really use some advice on how to get Rin to quit being so shy whenever someone brings up their bedroom activities."

Haruka saw the mischievous look in Mashiro's eyes and bit back a laugh. Their princess definitely knew how to embarrass her friends while at the same time setting them up.


End file.
